New Delhi: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur is actively considering the transfer of a first-year undergraduate who suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder and wants to move to IIT Delhi so he can continue his treatment at AIIMS, Delhi.
ThePrint has learnt that IIT Kharagpur’s director reached out to the boy’s father soon after the Supreme Court issued a notice to the two IITs and AIIMS on the student’s petition challenging the denial of his transfer by IIT Kharagpur.
“The original correspondence with IIT Kharagpur was sometime back, when the present Director was not in office. Once the case was brought to his attention, the Director communicated with the father and even the institute’s lawyer reached out to the boy’s legal team in the Supreme Court, seeking information about the case,” a source in the know of the development disclosed to ThePrint.
On 26 September, a bench of justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan had agreed to hear the student, who belongs to the scheduled caste category and had cleared the joint entrance examination (JEE) 2023 to secure a spot in the Bachelors of Architecture (B.Arch) programme at IIT Kharagpur.
By refusing to transfer him to Delhi, the institute had jeopardised the treatment for his chronic mental disability at AIIMS, claimed his petition, filed and argued by advocate Vipin Nair. The court is likely to hear the matter again on 10 October.
The sources quoted above told ThePrint that the new director has given commitment to the father to accept the transfer to any other place for the student’s well-being, subject to the acceptance of the recipient institution.
According to the sources, the director feels that such a matter should be handled with empathy and humanity, and that it was not a case that should have gone to the court.
When ThePrint contacted advocate Nair, he refused to divulge details, but confirmed that the institution had reached out to the student’s family.
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Ready to take any course
Nair also said the student was willing to take up whatever course IIT Delhi would offer him since the institute does not offer B.Arch, the subject he is pursuing. “He is ready to join the course that would be offered, depending upon the marks he scored during his entrance,” Nair said.
In the petition, the student has said his complex medical journey began in 2019, when he was diagnosed with depression and anxiety at PGI Chandigarh. In 2022, he underwent specialised Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (RTMS) therapy at AIIMS Delhi and recovered substantially.
Despite his vulnerable mental health, the petitioner succeeded in clearing JEE Advanced in 2023 and found a place in IIT Kharagpur. But the symptoms of his medical condition resurfaced when he moved to Kharagpur. This was because he moved away from his family and had to adjust to a new place. The two conditions together amplified the severity of his depression.
IIT Transfer Rules permit transfer of undergraduate students between IITs on medical grounds.
Keeping the rules in mind, the petitioner’s parents approached IIT Delhi and requested for the transfer. In December 2023, the IIT Delhi director gave a conditional consent pursuant to which the petitioner followed up with IIT Kharagpur.
Despite initial assurances by his institute, the application for transfer was rejected on 13 February 2024. Four grounds were cited for the rejection: insufficient JEE rank, curriculum differences, no parity between B.Arch. and B.Tech admission process, and inapplicability of transfer rules to architecture students, the petition claimed.
The rules do not restrict B.Arch students from applying for transfer, which, the petition added, applies to all undergraduate students admitted through JEE Advanced. B.Tech and B.Arch admissions are treated as equivalent for transfer purposes, the petition submitted.
On why he wants treatment from AIIMS Delhi, the student explained that the nearest hospital to Kharagpur providing the treatment that he needs is in Kolkata, which is private and beyond his financial means.
Hence, the student has beseeched the court to facilitate his transfer to IIT Delhi so that he can get the suitable treatment from AIIMS, which is located close to the institution. He said IIT Delhi should honour its conditional consent and offer placement to him in a suitable B.Tech program, based on his JEE Advanced rank, since it does not have a B.Arch course.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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