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Ms. Ashi Agarwal vs. Union of India & Ors.

Writ Petition (Civil) · CNR No. DLHC010255582026Decided 1 Oct 2026New Delhi Bench
W.P.(C) 7955/2026CNR: DLHC010255582026
Justice Jasmeet Singh

Background

The petitioner, a student, disputed the evaluation of five questions in her JEE (Main) 2025 Session I paper, and said she was unable to take Session II on 02.04.2025 because she became unwell at the centre and was not allowed in, and alleged she was assaulted by security staff. She sought admission to an IIT B.Tech course, preserving her academic year. The IIT Roorkee organising chairman rejected her candidature for JEE (Advanced) 2026 on 18.05.2026, because she did not meet the eligibility criterion of the Information Brochure.

Decision Breakdown

The High Court dismissed the writ petition. It held that the petitioner had not shown a legally sustainable basis for deviating from the prescribed eligibility criteria. The disputed questions about the JEE (Main) evaluation and her absence from Session II could not be conclusively decided in writ proceedings. Sympathy or loss of an academic year could not substitute for the eligibility conditions, and creating a supernumerary seat would have reopened a concluded admission cycle. The Court noted that an earlier interim-relief order on the same issue had already attained finality before the Supreme Court.

Lesson Learnt

Admission criteria set in advance in examination brochures will generally be enforced uniformly. Courts are reluctant to create new seats or extra routes to admission unless the official error is clearly established.

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