Delhi HC permits candidate declared ineligible to write JEE Advanced 2026

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday permitted a candidate to appear in the JEE Advanced 2026 after he was declared ineligible by the authorities on the ground that he had accepted a seat at an IIT last year.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday permitted a candidate to appear in the JEE Advanced 2026 after he was declared ineligible by the authorities on the ground that he had accepted a seat at an IIT last year. Justice Jasmeet Singh allowed the petitioner to register for the examination and directed the organising authorities to issue him a ticket within a week. ''You don't understand the value of the institution. This is the most premium institution in the world. Kids have ambition since class 1 to get a seat in IIT. It is a dream for kids. I cannot be oblivious to it. ''You talk about national resources going. The kid will tomorrow get admission in some American university. This will be a brain drain. You should give this kid admission. This is your human resource. I will have it (the petition for hearing) whenever you want but I will give the ticket today,'' the court orally told the counsel appearing for the authorities. ''The petitioner will be granted a ticket to appear for the proposed examination, JEE Advanced 2026 to be held on May 17, 2026, within one week from today in accordance with the schedule,'' the court ordered. Justice Singh stated that if the petitioner was not permitted to appear, his petition would become infructuous and if he lost the case, his examination could be declared null and void. The petitioner, represented by lawyer Tanvi Dubey, said he successfully cleared JEE (Mains) 2025 and qualified for JEE (Advanced) 2025 but did not take admission in any institute. In the sixth round of counselling, a seat in IIT Guwahati was however ''deemed accepted'' and allocated to him in July 2025 without his conscious consent, the court was told. The petitioner stated that although he promptly communicated his unwillingness to join IIT Guwahati, the organising authorities barred him from appearing in the IIT entrance test this year as he was not eligible on account of Criterion A5 of the JEE Advanced Information Brochure 2026. The court said it was of the prima facie view that final confirmation for the seat was subject to the petitioner meeting eligibility conditions, but this exercise was not carried out in this case. In the petition, the petitioner said the authorities' decision was ex facie arbitrary, unreasonable, and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The petition said the rule operated mechanically by deeming ''acceptance'' of admission without any voluntary or conscious act by the petitioner. Such automatic deeming, coupled with the absence of an opportunity to withdraw in the final round, leads to manifest injustice and fails the test of fairness and reasonableness, plea claimed.