0ae7774b8cd1fdff5de7c09fa26f1cfac51d0cb2d9d13f53dc9f5c0948b2d52d

14. It is thus seen that Criterion 3 provides for a maximum of two attempts to appear in JEE (Advanced) in consecutive years. Criterion 3 also stipulates that a candidate should have appeared in Class 12th (or equivalent) examination for the first time either in the year 2022 or 2023 with physics, chemistry, mathematics as compulsory subjects, meaning thereby, for JEE (Advanced) 2023, a fresh lot of students who are attempting their Class 12th examination in the same very year and those students who attempted their Class 12th examination in the immediately preceding year i.e. 2022, are only entitled to appear subject to their fulfilling other eligibility conditions.

15. Criterion 4 specifically debars the candidates who had appeared in Class 12th (or equivalent) examination for the first time in the year 2021 or earlier, irrespective of the combination of subjects/ attempts offered. Thus, the criteria when read together would clarify two important aspects; firstly, the candidates cannot attempt JEE (Advanced) for more than two consecutive attempts and secondly, the consecutive attempts have to be attempts immediately after the year of Class 12th examination in which JEE (Advanced) is to be held.

16. The petitioners are, therefore, not entitled in view of Criterion 3 and 4, as the petitioners had appeared in their Class 12th examination in the year 2021 thereafter, in the year 2021 as well as in 2022, JEE - 18 – Neutral Citation Number 2023:DHC:3121 (Advanced) was conducted. The petitioners had two opportunitiesone was in 2021 and the second was in 2022.

17. The petitioners seek to claim parity with the decision taken by the respondent no.2-JAB creating exceptions to general eligibility criteria for JEE (Advanced) 2022. The public notice issued pursuant to the decision dated 14.12.2021 taken by respondent no.2-JAB, reads as under:- “Notice to Candidates The joint Admission Board of JEE (Advanced) in the first JAB meeting held on December 14, 2021 deliberated on the numerous representations received regarding the eligibility criteria and was of the view that the exceptional circumstances and hardships faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic required some relaxation to be given. These relaxations are special one-time measures only. The following exceptions to the general eligibility criteria were accordingly deliberated and approved. o One-time measure for those who first appeared in class 12th (or equivalent) examination in 2020/2021 AND successfully registered for JEE (Advanced) 2021 but did NOT appear Candidates who appeared in class 12th (or equivalent) examination for the first time in 2020 OR 2021 AND successfully registered for JEE (Advanced) 2021 but were absent in BOTH the papers, i.e., Paper 1 and Paper 2, of JEE (Advanced) 2021, are eligible to directly appear for JEE (Advanced) 2022 and do not need to fulfill Criteria 1 to 4. However, they must successfully register for the JEE (Advanced) 2022 in the online registration portal and pay the registration fee. Further, these candidates would be considered in addition to and not as part of the total number of candidates who would qualify from JEE (Main) 2022 for appearing in JEE (Advanced) 2022. This is a one-time measure valid only for JEE (Advanced) 2022 due to the ongoing pandemic. These candidates must confirm their eligibility for appearing in JEE (Advanced) 2022 by visiting the official website (https://jeeadv.ac.in) and filling in the requisite information during registration. This one-time measure is NOT applicable to candidates who appeared for their class 12th exam for the first time before 2020. o One-time measure for those who first appeared in class 12th in As a one-time special measure due to the ongoing pandemic, candidates who appeared in class 12th (or equivalent) examination in 2020 for the first time are also eligible to appear for JEE - 19 – Neutral Citation Number 2023:DHC:3121 (Advanced) 2022 PROVIDED they satisfy the following two criteria simultaneously: (i) The candidate should have appeared ONLY ONCE for JEE (Advanced), either in the year 2020 or 2021; OR, have NOT at all appeared in any paper in both JEE (Advanced) 2020 and JEE (Advanced) 2021.

(ii) These candidate(s) should appear/should have appeared in JEE (Main) 2022 and meet the cut-off score of the top 2,50,000 successful candidates (including all categories) for qualifying for JEE (Advanced) 2022 in their respective category. This one-time measure is applicable to ONLY those candidates for whom the appearance in JEE (Advanced) 2022 will be their first or second attempt and is NOT applicable to candidates who appeared for their class 12th exam for the first time before 2020. No candidate will be allowed to appear in JEE (Advanced) more than two times. Further, these candidates would be considered in addition to and not as part of the total number of candidates who would qualify from JEE (Main) 2022 for appearing in JEE (Advanced) 2022. Criteria 5 would be applicable to these candidate(s). This is a one-time measure valid only for JEE (Advanced) 2022. *By appearance in Class XII (or equivalent) examination, it is meant that the board concerned declared the result for that year irrespective of whether or not examination was conducted. It will be considered as an appearance even if the result of a particular candidate got withheld. These candidates must confirm their eligibility for appearing in JEE (Advanced) 2022 by visiting the official website (https://jeeadv.ac.in) and filling in the requisite information during the registration.”

18. A perusal of decision would indicate that the same was arrived at in view of the exceptional circumstances and hardships faced due to Covid-19 pandemic, which compelled respondent no.2-JAB to extend certain relaxations in 2022 examination and the same were made specific to the year 2022 as a one-time measure. If the exceptions created in the general eligibility criteria are also perused carefully, the same would indicate that the candidates who successfully registered for JEE (Advanced) 2021 but remained absent in both the papers i.e. Paper-I and Paper-II of JEE (Advanced) 2021, were made eligible to directly appear for JEE (Advanced) 2022. - 20 – Neutral Citation Number 2023:DHC:3121

19. The successful registration for JEE (Advanced) 2021 would mean that the candidates who were otherwise eligible to appear in JEE (Advanced) 2021 and because of certain difficulties despite their eligibility, could not appear in both the papers i.e. Paper-I and Paper- II, were entitled for the said benefits. Even if the candidates who appeared in Paper-I or Paper-II, were found ineligible for the said relaxation. The one-time measure directions have been worded very carefully to restrict the benefit only to the candidates who by virtue of the Covid-19 pandemic could not appear in both the papers. The relaxation was not made applicable across the board. The same was done in 2022 JEE (Advanced) and not in this year.

20. So far as the, one-time measure for the candidates who first appeared in Class 12th examination in 2020 is concerned, the same was also provided with the condition that they should have appeared only once for JEE (Advanced) either in the year 2020 or 2021 or have not at all appeared in any paper in both JEE (Advanced) 2020 and JEE (Advanced) 2021.

21. It is to be noted that owing to Covid-19 pandemic, no regular examinations were conducted for Class 12th in the year 2020 and 2021 and the results were declared on the basis of internal assessment.

22. The petitioners in the instant case are admittedly not the students who appeared in 2020 examination but are the candidates who appeared in 2021 examination for Class 12th. In 2021, the petitioners did appear in JEE (Mains) but barring five candidates/petitioners, none of the petitioners appeared in JEE (Advanced). Had it been the case of the petitioners that because of Covid-19 pandemic, they could not appear in JEE (Advanced) 2021, they should have approached the concerned respondent or this court immediately at the time of examination or thereafter, but the - 21 – Neutral Citation Number 2023:DHC:3121 petitioners maintained their silence and have not explained any reason as to why despite the availability of an opportunity to appear in JEE (Advanced) 2021, they did not appear in the said examination.

23. The petitioners, thereafter, appeared in JEE (Advanced) 2022 and remained unsuccessful.

24. In JEE (Advanced) 2023, the petitioners seek to draw the parity with the students who appeared in JEE (Mains) 2020 and JEE (Mains) 2021 and successfully registered for JEE (Advanced) 2021. The petitioners do not fall within the category of students who were granted relaxation. The category of students who were granted relaxation, form a separate class. There is a reasonable classification based on intelligible differentia between the category of students who were granted the relaxation and those who were not granted the same benefit. The same is based on proper application of mind and the attendant circumstances. No fault can be found with the aforesaid aspect.

25. Clause 26 of the JEE (Advanced) 2023- Information Brochure which is also under challenge in the instant writ petition, is reproduced as under:- “26. Performance in Class XII (or Equivalent) Board Examination for admission to IITs o The Candidates must satisfy at least one of the following two criteria with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics as compulsory subjects in the year of first appearance in the Class XII (or equivalent examination):

1. Must have secured at least 75% aggregate marks in the Class XII (or equivalent) Board examination. The aggregate marks for SC, ST and PWD candidates should be at least 65%.

2. Must be within the category-wise top 20 percentile of successful candidates in their respective Class XII (or equivalent) board examination. The percentile calculation will be done for all the required subjects, in a single academic year only. Therefore, candidates appearing for improvement in Board examinations can EITHER appear in one or more subjects and secure 75% aggregate marks (65% for SC, ST and PWD) after improvement, OR, appear for - 22 – Neutral Citation Number 2023:DHC:3121 improvement in ALL subjects to be in top 20 percentile (see Section titled "Regarding the cut-off marks for the top 20 percentile") of the corresponding academic year. o The marks scored in the following five subjects will be considered for calculating the aggregate marks and the cut-off marks for fulfilling the top 20 percentile criterion.

(i) Physics

(ii) Chemistry

(iii) Mathematics

(iv) A language (if the candidate has taken more than one language, then the language with the higher marks will be considered)

(v) Any subject other than the above four (the subject with the highest marks will be considered). o For calculation of the total marks for five subjects, if the marks awarded in a subject is NOT out of 100, then the marks will be scaled (up or down) to 100 so that the total aggregate marks is out of 500. o If a Board awards only letter grades without providing an equivalent percentage of marks on the grade sheet, the candidate should obtain a certificate from the Board specifying the equivalent marks and submit it at the time of acceptance of the allocated seat. In case such a certificate is not provided, the decision taken by the Joint Implementation Committee of JEE (Advanced) 2023 will be final. o For candidates who appeared in the Class XII (or equivalent) Board examination for the first time in 2022 and reappeared in ALL subjects (for whatsoever reason) in 2023, the best of the two performances will be considered. o If a Board gives aggregate marks considering both Class XI and Class XII examinations (in the 10+2 system), then only Class XII marks will be considered. If a Board gives aggregate marks considering the results of all three years of a 3-year diploma or courses of equivalent duration, then the marks scored only in the final year will be considered. Similarly, for Boards which follow a semester system, the marks scored in the final two semesters will be considered. o In case any of the subjects Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Language are not evaluated in the final year (e.g., in a 3-year diploma course), then the marks for the same subject from the previous year/swill be used for calculating percentage of aggregate marks. o If a Board does not give marks scored in individual subjects but gives only the aggregate marks, then the aggregate marks given by the Board will be considered as such. o The above will also apply correspondingly to those candidates who first appeared for their Class XII examination in 2021 but the examination Board of Class XII (or equivalent) declared the results for the academic year 2020-21 on or after October 25, 2021. For eligibility criteria foreign candidates may follow the link https://ieeadv.ac.in/foreign.html - 23 – Neutral Citation Number 2023:DHC:3121

26.1. Regarding the cut-off marks for the top 20 percentile o The category-wise cut-off marks for the top 20 percentile are calculated based on the marks scored by the successful candidates who appeared in their respective boards for all the required subjects, in the particular year. o The cut-off marks for PWD candidates will be the same as the lowest of the cut-off marks for GEN, OBC-NCL, SC and ST categories. o It is clarified that top 20 percentile cut-off for the academic year 2022-23 will be considered against the successful candidates who appeared in the Class XII (or equivalent) examination in 2023. o Similarly, top 20 percentile cut-off for the academic year 2021-22 will be considered against the successful candidates who appeared in the Class XII (or equivalent) examination in 2022. o Candidates who appeared in Class XII (or equivalent) examination for the first time in 2022 and wish to (or have to) reappear in 2023 with the objective to qualify through top 20 percentile cut-off criteria, must reappear in all the subjects. For such candidates, top 20 percentile cut-off for 2023 will be considered. o In case a Board does not provide information about the cut-off for the top 20 percentile, the candidate will have to produce a certificate from the respective Board stating that he/she falls within the top 20 percentile of successful candidates. If the candidate fails to do so, then the cut-off marks, in the respective categories, for the Central Board of Secondary Education will be used. o The above will also apply correspondingly to those candidates who for the academic year 2020-21 on or after October 25, 2021.

26.2. Regarding the aggregate marks of 75°/o (or 65°/o for SC, ST and PWD)  The aggregate marks scored by the candidate in the 2023 Class XII (or equivalent) Board examination will be considered for candidates who will appear in the Class XII examination in 2023.  The aggregate marks scored by the candidate in the 2022 Class XII (or equivalent) Board examination will be considered provided the candidate does not reappear in the Class XII (or equivalent) examination in 2023 in any of the subjects.  If a candidate had appeared in his/her Class XII (or equivalent) in 2022.and wishes to improve his/her aggregate marks to meet the "aggregate marks of 75% (or 65% for SC, ST and PWD) criterion", - 24 – Neutral Citation Number 2023:DHC:3121 he/she can reappear for any number of subjects he/she wishes for improvement. The percentage marks in this situation will be calculated by considering the marks obtained in 2022 or 2023, whichever is higher, in the respective subjects, in his/her two attempts in 2022 and 2023.  The above will also apply correspondingly for the candidates who for the academic year 2020-21 on or after October 25, 2021.”

26. The petitioners have not been able to point out any good reason as to why the condition relating to the performance in Class 12th (or equivalent) examination for admission to the IITs needs to be interfered with. If the petitioners are belonging to a batch of students who appeared in 2021 Class 12th examination, there were lakhs of students who might have appeared in the same year. No specific criteria can be evolved for a particular set of students, as any criteria fixed for appearing in the examination will have to be made applicable uniformly. This court does not find any reason to interfere with Clause 26 of the impugned Information Brochure.

27. It is to be noted that the eligibility conditions for appearing in JEE (Advanced) are decided by respondent no.2-JAB after due deliberation. The eligibility conditions such as the age requirement, permissible number of attempts, and are within the realm of the policy decision being taken by examining body and the same are uniformly applied to all candidates without exception. Any interference into the aforesaid aspects will have the effect of disturbing academic discipline. The courts are not expected to have expertise to assess the pros and cons of various policy decisions taken by experts. Unless the decision is de hors the fundamental rights or so arbitrary so as to shock the conscience of this court, the same normally does not require any interference. - 25 – Neutral Citation Number 2023:DHC:3121

28. This court in the case of Baba Hira Das Ji Ayurvedic Medical College And Hospital v. Union of India and Ors.[6] has considered various earlier decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court on this issue and has held that normally the courts should be slow to interfere with the opinions expressed by the experts in academic matters. Paragraph nos. 17 and 18 of the said case are reproduced as under:-

29. A similar view has been taken by this court in its decision dated 15.02.2023 in the case of Debjyoti Ghosh v. Jawaharlal Nehru University and Anr.7. In paragraph no.19 of the said case, it has been held as under:

30. The respondents in their counter affidavit in paragraph nos. 25 to 28 have taken a categorical stand that certain relaxations were required to be granted to a category of students on the basis of various circumstances as explained therein. Paragraph nos.25 to 28 of the said counter affidavit are reproduced as under:-

31. They further justify that in the year 2021, when the petitioners claimed that they could not appear because of Covid-19 pandemic, the same percentage of students appeared, who normally were appearing in preceding three years. In paragraph no.29 following averments have been made:- “29.That the argument of the Petitioners that the impugned criteria violate Article 14 of the Constitution of India is misplaced. The earlier decision of JAB was to ensure that the candidates who were actually affected by situations created by Covid19 were (i) enabled to appear in the examination and (ii) enabled to avail of the two opportunities. The Petitioners herein had all appeared in Class XII examination in the year 2021; this means that they had the opportunity to appear for JEE (Advanced) in the year 2021 and also in 2022. The figures in the following table, which form part of the JAB decision, indicate that the candidates were able to prepare for and appear in the examination, while facing the same set of circumstances across the country and that a similar number of candidates appeared as in pre-Covid19 times. JEE (Advance d) Year Number of Candidates registered Number of Candidates appeared for both papers Attendance (%) 2018 165656 155158 93.66 2019 174432 161319 92.48 2020 160838 150838 93.78 2021 151209 141699 93.71 2022 16003# 155538 97.19 #includes the candidates under the one-time measures.

32. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Maharshi Dayanand University (supra) while placing reliance on its earlier pronouncement in the case of State of Punjab v. Renuka Singh[8], Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation v. Ashrafulla Khan & Ors.9, Bihar

AIR 2002 SC 629 - 28 – Neutral Citation Number 2023:DHC:3121 School Examination Board v. Suresh Prasad Sinha10 and other decisions, has held that neither the courts nor any Tribunal has the competence to issue a direction contrary to law and to act in contravention of statutory provisions.

33. In the case of ‘Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur’ (supra) while placing reliance on a decision in the case of All India Council for Teacher Education v. Surinder Kumar Dhawan11, the Hon’ble Supreme Court emphasized that in matters, such as, devising admission criteria or other issues engaging academic institutions, the court’s scrutiny in judicial review has to be careful and circumspect. Unless shown to be plainly arbitrary or discriminatory, the court would defer to the wisdom of administrators in academic institutions who might device policies with regard to curricular admission process, career progression of their employees, matters of discipline or other general administrative issues concerning the institution or university. Paragraph no.19 of the said decision reads as under:- “19.The reasoning of the High Court of Criterion 5 not permitting IIT students to participate in IIT (Advanced) for the second time being arbitrary, in the opinion of this Court is not supportable. This Court has repeatedly emphasized that in matters such as devising admissions criteria or other issues engaging academic institutions, the courts’ scrutiny in judicial review has to be careful and circumspect. Unless shown to be plainly arbitrary or discriminatory, the court would defer to the wisdom of administrators in academic institutions who might devise policies in regard to curricular admission process, career progression of their employees, matters of discipline or other general administrative issues concerning the institution or university[5]. It was held by this court in All India Council for Technical Education v. Surinder Kumar Dhawan[6] “16. The courts are neither equipped nor have the academic or technical background to substitute themselves in place of statutory professional technical bodies and take decisions in academic matters involving standards and quality of technical education. If the courts start entertaining petitions from individual institutions or

- 29 – Neutral Citation Number 2023:DHC:3121 students to permit courses of their choice, either for their convenience or to alleviate hardship or to provide better opportunities, or because they think that one course is equal to another, without realizing the repercussions on the field of technical education in general, it will lead to chaos in education and deterioration in standards of education.”

34. In the case of ‘Shikhar & Anr. (supra) in paragraph no. 9 while taking note of the decision in the case of Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur & Ors. (supra), it has been reiterated that the cut off date for completion of the internship was in the realm of the policy decision within the domain of the Executive and Regulatory Authority. Paragraph no.9 of the said verdict reads as under:-

20. Given this general reluctance of courts to substitute the views of academic and expert bodies, the approach of the High Court in proceeding straightaway to characterize the rationale given by the IIT in fashioning the Criteria No. 5 cannot be supported.” (emphasis supplied)”

35. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents have rightly placed reliance on a decision in the case of Nilesh Jha & Ors. (supra) which reiterates the well settled principles of law that an educational authority is not obliged to exempt everyone in order to exempt some persons from the river of rule. Considering an argument addressed on behalf of the petitioners, who appeared in the JEE (Advanced) 2020 and JEE (Advanced) 2021 having exhausted both their attempts to allow them to appear in a subsequent examination, the Hon’ble Supreme Court in paragraph nos. 2 to 6 has held as under:-

36. In view of the aforesaid, this court does not find any infirmity or illegality in prescribing Criterion 3, 4 and Clause 26 in the impugned Information Brochure for appearance in JEE (Advanced) 2023. Therefore, the instant petition stands dismissed.

JUDGE MAY 03, 2023 nc