‘Quite heartening’: After Allahabad HC judge, Mumbai doctor decides to sponsor poor Dalit student’s education

After the judge, it is the turn of a doctor to come to the rescue of the poor Dalit girl who secured admission to IIT-BHU following Allahabad High Court’s intervention last week.

Moved by the plight of a poor Dalit student, the Allahabad High Court judge paid Rs 15,000 from his pocket to secure her seat at IIT-BHU Varanasi. The Court asked IIT-BHU to admit Dalit girl student who lost her admission in Bachelor and Master of Technology (Dual Degree) after she failed to pay Rs. 15000 acceptance fee.

After hearing the argument, Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh, on his own, volunteered to contribute Rs.15,000 towards the fee for the allocation of the seat. He handed over the amount to her after the court hours. Having score 92.77 percentile marks in J.E.E Mains Examination, the student secured 2062 rank as Scheduled Class Category candidate. She cleared JEE. Advance in October 2021 with 1469 rank in the Scheduled Caste Category.

Now, a Mumbai-based doctor came forward to sponsor the studies of a Dalit girl student.

Dr.Sonal Chauhan, working as a Consultant at Wadia Children Hospital, Mumbai, submitted before the Bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh, that she wishes to sponsor the entire study of Dalit Student, Sanskriti Ranjan at IIT BHU.

In fact, the Counsel informed the Court that several IIT alumni have contacted him, even many advocates have come forward to sponsor the entire study of the petitioner.

Against this backdrop, placing on record its special appreciation for Dr. Sonal Chauhan for her noble gesture, the Court remarked thus:

“This is quite heartening that a capable section of the society is willing to sponsor the study of a meritorious girl student from lower strata of the society. The Court places appreciation on record to all such persons, who have volunteered to sponsor an entire education of the petitioner,” the court said.

However, the court did note that this is not a solitary case where a brilliant student coming from the lower strata of Society faces such difficulty in depositing the fee after cracking the admission test for prestigious institutions such as IIT.

Observing that others might not have been so fortunate to come to court, the bench sought to know from the Union of India as well from the state government as to whether there is some scheme/fund for sponsoring the study of such students who secure admission in the best of the Institution through entrance exams such as JEE/NEET/CLAT, etc, but they are unable to pay their fee because of their poor economic conditions.-

The court directed that the instructions from the state and central government should be placed on record before the next date of hearing on December 20.