Supreme Court Intervenes in IIT Student’s Transfer Request
In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court of India has instructed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi to establish a medical board for the evaluation of a student from IIT Kharagpur. The student has sought a transfer to IIT Roorkee, citing mental health concerns as the primary reason. The decision was passed by a Bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan.
The Court has mandated IIT Roorkee to reserve a seat for the student, with the admission deadline set for July 17, 2026. Acknowledging the challenges of requiring the student to travel to IIT Kharagpur for a medical assessment, the Bench has arranged for the evaluation to be conducted at AIIMS, Delhi. The directive was clear: “We direct IIT Roorkee to keep one seat vacant subject to the result of this writ petition. The petitioner shall appear before the Director, AIIMS. AIIMS shall constitute a Medical Board, which shall submit its report to this Court,” according to the Bench.
Petitioner’s Case and Legal Representation
The case involves a Bachelor of Architecture student from IIT Kharagpur who approached the Supreme Court for an inter-IIT transfer. The student claims to suffer from depression, necessitating repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) therapy, which is unavailable at his current institution.
Initially, the student sought a transfer to IIT Delhi, but this was deemed infeasible due to differences in the Bachelor of Architecture curriculum. Consequently, the student is now seeking a transfer to IIT Roorkee. Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta, representing the petitioner, argued that the student has been traveling to Chandigarh for therapy and that similar facilities are available near IIT Roorkee.
Gupta also contested the claim that the student had completed three years of study, asserting that he had only finished his first year and was seeking entry into the second year.
Arguments from IIT Kharagpur
Legal counsel for IIT Kharagpur expressed sympathy for the student’s condition but argued that a medical board at IIT Kharagpur should initially certify the student’s ailment. They further noted differences in the Bachelor of Architecture curriculum between IIT Kharagpur and IIT Roorkee, along with Roorkee’s higher admission cut-off.
Justice Nagarathna, however, questioned the relevance of these arguments, emphasizing the student’s merit: “He is meritorious and that is how he got a seat in IIT Kharagpur. It is not that he was not meritorious. The same merit must get transferred here.”
The matter is scheduled for its next hearing on July 29.
