The Orissa High Court on Thursday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged lapses in scoring by National Testing Agency (NTA) denying an aspirant seeking admission either in National Institute of Technology (NIT) or in Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

The Division Bench comprising Justice B.R.Sarangi and Justice Murahari Sri Raman, taking cognizance of petition moved by Anshuman Kanungo, observed “this Court is of the considered view that the matter should be enquired into by an independent agency, so that the confidence of the candidates, who are appearing in the examination, is not lost”.

“CBI will take all possible steps to make a thorough inquiry and submit a report, taking into account the interest of a student, who wants to take admission. The inquiry report by the CBI shall be submitted as early as possible, preferably within a period of four months from the date of communication of this judgment”, the Bench ruled in the order.

The petitioner had challenged the inaction of the Joint Entrance Examination Committee in manipulating the result of the petitioner depriving him to get admission in the premiere technical institutes like NIT (National Institutes of Technology) and IIT (Indian Institutes of Technology and sought for the correction of his ranking in National Testing Agency (NTA) scoring, A.K.Pandey, the petitioner’s counsel said.

The petitioner had passed +2 Science Examination and appeared in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), 2022.

Though he secured the eligibility by impressive scoring, the authorities concerned did not send him the eligibility letter either for admission into top Colleges or become eligible for JEE (Advance)-2022. There was fluctuation in the NTA score provided to him and the score mentioned in the website. The petitioner submitted a representation to the concerned authority for necessary correction of the scoring to enable him to take admission in the premiere institutes, the petitioner’s counsel Pandey argued.

On the basis of QR Code given by the authorities, since the documents were downloaded from the website and also intimation was issued by the NTA stating that the petitioner had secured 98%, he is entitled to get admission into a better institution like IIT or NIT, A.K.Pandey, the petitioner’s counsel argued.

It has been brought to the notice of this Court that similar complaints have been received in various States and more than 100 cases of similar nature are with the opposite parties, but they are not resolving such disputes, the division bench noted in the order.

The career of a student being involved in this case, this Court is of the considered view that the action of the authorities concerned is absolutely arbitrary, unreasonable and contrary to the provisions of law.

Therefore, under the facts and circumstances of the case, this Court thinks it appropriate that interest of justice would be best served if inquiry is conducted by the CBI. Therefore, in the interest of justice, equity and fair play, the matter is handed over to an independent agency, i.e., CBI to cause an enquiry and find out the correctness of the documents filed by the petitioner, the judgment concluded.