HC rejects plea seeking relaxation in 75% HSC marks for JEE (Main)

Bombay High Court dismisses PIL seeking relaxation in the requirement of 75% marks in HSC exam to appear for JEE (Main), stating it's for the government to consider students' grievances. The NTA's decision to resume the eligibility criterion was not restricted to one state but pan-India, and granting relaxation would affect hardworking students who earned marks above 75%.

The Bombay high court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition that had sought relaxation in the requirement of 75% marks in HSC exam to appear for JEE (Main).

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“At this stage we can’t intervene with the ongoing process... It is for the government to consider students’ grievances. We have our limitations as a writ court... The Supreme Court has powers,” a division bench of acting chief justice Sanjay V Gangapurwala and justice Sandeep V Marne said.

After securing the cut-off percentage in JEE (Main), a student shall have to write JEE (Advanced) for making it to Indian Institutes of Technology and National Institutes of Technology.

The PIL, filed by advocate Anubha Sahai on behalf of a student, claimed that the mandatory 75% HSC marks was not in force in previous academic years and the National Testing Authority’s (NTA) decision to resume it from 2023-24 would render those students taking another shot at JEE (Main) ineligible. Further, the NTA’s announcement on bringing the criterion back from the current academic year did not come on time, the petitioner said.

Additional solicitor general Anil Singh, representing the NTA, had earlier told the HC that the eligibility criterion was introduced in 2017-18 and was relaxed only for three years during the pandemic – 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23. However, that relaxation was a one-time measure and if students perceived any loss, they should have taken corrective measures when they had the opportunity, he had said.

On Wednesday, the bench said, “This (the NTA’s decision to end relaxation) is not restricted to one state, this is pan-India. This is not just for Maharashtra, but for the country. Consider the ramifications it (the relief sought in the PIL) will have.”

While responding to the submission by an intervenor that many students like him were affected by the criterion that was announced only through the information brochure in December 2022, the HC said, “Except your intervention, no other students have come forward. There is a PIL. Granting you relaxation will affect students who have worked hard and earned marks more than 75%.”