Bombay High Court grants no relief to meritorious student who failed to submit admission form within deadline

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has refused any relief to a student who failed to submit form for admission to a science institute within the deadline, saying he cannot be allowed to participate in the admission process only because he secured a good rank.

A division bench of Justices A S Chandurkar and Rajesh Patil in its order on July 10 also said relief cannot be granted merely on the ground of sympathy. Any such relief would cause injustice to other students, it added.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Siddhant Rane, seeking a direction to the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, to accept his application form for the four-year Bachelor of Science (Research) programme.

Rane was held ineligible for the admission process as he had submitted his online application form after the deadline.

As per the institute, the forms were to be submitted online from April 1 to May 7, 2024 and the date was then extended till May 14. However, Rane submitted the form on June 9.

In his plea, Rane said in the IISER Aptitude Test (IAT), his All India Rank was 10 and hence he was eligible to secure admission as per the cut off marks prescribed.

He said that based on his ranking, he ought to be permitted to participate in the admission process and to upload the necessary documents.

The institute opposed the plea and said till the last date of application submission, it had received about 11,180 forms. Accepting Rane's application now would result in giving a go-bye to the last date of submission of applications, the institute contended.

The bench noted that Rane submitted his application form on June 9 which was much beyond the last date prescribed.

"It is true that the petitioner (Rane) has secured a good All India Rank but only on that basis he cannot be permitted to participate in the admission process as he had submitted his application beyond the deadline prescribed," the court said.

"Merely on the basis of sympathy" relief cannot be granted to the student, it said.

"Granting such relief would cause injustice to the other applicants," the HC said dismissing the petition.