The Supreme Court of India has granted permission for a student to transfer from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) to the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) citing mental health concerns. This decision was reached on Thursday by a Bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan, who exercised the Court’s extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Indian Constitution to ensure complete justice.
The ruling, however, was explicitly stated not to set a precedent for future cases. The student, pursuing a Bachelor of Architecture degree at IIT Kharagpur, petitioned the Supreme Court for a transfer following a diagnosis of recurrent depressive disorder. Prior to this, the Court had ordered a medical evaluation by AIIMS and had issued interim directives regarding the case.
The petitioner initially requested a migration to IIT Delhi, but differences in the Bachelor of Architecture curriculum between the institutions rendered this move unfeasible. Consequently, the student sought to transfer to IIT Roorkee. Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta, representing the petitioner, highlighted the ongoing treatment at PGI Chandigarh and the lack of equivalent facilities in Kharagpur.
On behalf of IIT Roorkee, Advocate Shaiwal Srivastava informed the Court that there are no established protocols for inter-IIT transfers, as each IIT operates under the guidance of its own Senate. Nonetheless, he assured that should the Court grant the transfer, the student would be able to enroll in the first year of the Bachelor of Architecture program at IIT Roorkee.
After considering the student’s health condition and the geographic distance between Chandigarh and Kharagpur, the Court concluded that justice would best be served by directing IIT Kharagpur to issue the necessary transfer and migration certificates. The Court ordered this process to be completed within a week, noting that the academic session had already begun on July 17.
More Read
The Court also instructed that the petitioner adhere to all fee-related requirements at IIT Roorkee. With these directives, the petition was resolved. Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta represented the petitioner, while Advocate Shaiwal Srivastava appeared for IIT Roorkee.
