The Supreme Court verdict on Monday came in as a major relief to 18-year-old Atul Kumar who was denied a seat at IIT Dhanbad after failing by a few minutes to meet the deadline to pay the fees.

“My life is back on track now,” he said as he walked out of the Supreme Court, reports Indian Express.

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The apex court had ordered IIT Dhanbad to grant admission to the Dalit boy in the electrical engineering stream. He had missed out on reaching his dreams by few minutes due to a delay in paying the admission fee of Rs 17,500.

The Supreme Court had also directed Atul to be admitted in the same batch that he was selected for and be provided with all the benefits, including hostel allotment, that he was entitled to.

Atul’s father Rajendra Kumar expressing his immense joy over the judgment, said “I have no words to describe the immense joy I am feeling. Trust me, I can’t express even 1% of the happiness I am feeling. Everyone is delighted…”

#Congratulations; The Supreme Court has mandated IIT Dhanbad to admit Atul Kumar, a 18-year-old Dalit student who missed the fee payment deadline by minutes. https://t.co/jC6nn6C7O2 pic.twitter.com/laouBTZGoH

— The Dalit Voice (@ambedkariteIND) September 30, 2024

The father and son had been campaigning in Delhi for the court verdict. And they both were present in the court when the verdict was given. Since only one pass was given, Atul went inside, meanwhile, his father stood outside anxiously.

“I will do anything for my child. I am planning on taking an education loan from a bank. Seeing the smile on my son’s face after the verdict meant everything to me,” said Rajendra.

Rajendra sharing his journey to acquire the admission fee amount said that it was indeed a gargantuan task for him.

Initially, he asked the local money lender, who agreed to give him the funds, however, he backed out at the last minute, leaving him just five hours before the due time.

His friend Titu Bai came in lending him Rs 10,000, another friend, Ompal gave him Rs 4,000 and he withdrew the remaining 3,500 from his own account.

“I want to thank the CJI and my lawyers Amol Chitale, Pragya Baghel and everyone else who came out to support me,” said Rajendra. “Multiple people have reached out to us and offered help to pay the fees,” he said.

Rajendra after hearing the verdict said that when the JEE (Advanced) results were declared, he had distributed ladoos rejoicing in the victory and now he wishes to distribute the ladoos in his village once again.

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Atul is the youngest of Rajendra’s four sons. Eldest, Mohit, 24, is pursuing a BTech in computer science from the National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur. Meanwhile, their second son, 22, Rohit is studying chemical engineering at IIT Kharagpur. The third son Amit, 20 is pursuing his graduation in Hindi from Shri Kund Kund Jain Inter College in Khatoli, Muzaffarnagar.

Rajendra had to sell a house to fund the education of his eldest son, he said.