Delhi High Court Flags CBSE-JoSAA Schedule Clash, Says Students Should Not Lose Admissions

New Delhi, July 23: The Delhi High Court has observed that students should not be denied admission to premier educational institutions merely because the schedule of CBSE compartment or improvement examinations does not align with the counselling timeline of the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA).

Justice Jasmeet Singh made the observations while hearing petitions filed by two students whose provisional admissions were cancelled after they narrowly missed the minimum requirement of 65 per cent marks in their Class XII examinations. Both students are scheduled to appear in the CBSE improvement examination on July 28 to enhance their scores.

The Court noted that the JoSAA 2026 Business Rules permit consideration of revised Class XII marks after re-evaluation or improvement. However, it pointed out that the deadline for submitting revised marks was July 15, whereas the CBSE improvement examination is scheduled after that date, making it impossible for candidates to benefit from the provision.

The High Court observed that if students are given an opportunity to improve their marks, the process should have practical value and should not become ineffective because of conflicting schedules. It remarked that the existing rule would become meaningless if students are declared ineligible even before taking the improvement examination.

Justice Singh also stated that students invest months of hard work to secure admission to prestigious institutions and should not suffer due to a lack of coordination between examination authorities and admission bodies.

During the hearing, JoSAA argued that the counselling process had concluded on July 16 and all seats had already been allotted. It maintained that admission timelines under the Business Rules are binding and cannot be altered through judicial intervention.

The High Court, however, clarified that the petitioners were not seeking relaxation of eligibility criteria but implementation of the existing JoSAA provisions, which already provide for consideration of revised Class XII results and allow the creation of supernumerary seats where required.

The Court further observed that if the petitioners successfully improve their marks, the Business Rules permit the creation of a supernumerary seat in the same programme originally allotted to them.

One of the petitions was filed by Daksh Singhal, an ST category candidate who secured an ST rank of 144 in JEE (Advanced) 2026 and was allotted a B.Tech (Mechanical Engineering) seat at IIT Delhi. His admission was cancelled after he obtained 64.2 per cent in Class XII.

The second petition was filed by Paras Batra, a candidate under the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) category, who was allotted a B.Arch seat at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. His admission was cancelled after he scored 64.8 per cent, slightly below the prescribed eligibility requirement.

The Delhi High Court has issued notices to the respondents, sought their replies and listed the matter for further hearing on August 21, 2026. It also granted the students liberty to seek an early hearing if the CBSE declares the improvement examination results before the next hearing.