Delhi High Court allows JNU to resume postgraduate admissions

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday allowed Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to proceed with admissions to its postgraduate programmes, modifying an earlier order that had halted the process over a challenge to its deprivation-points policy.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia ruled that JNU could continue admissions in accordance with its 2026–27 e-prospectus, including the provisions challenged before a single-judge bench. However, all admissions would remain subject to the final outcome of the petition.

Deprivation points are additional marks granted to applicants from certain geographically disadvantaged regions to improve their representation at the university.

On 14 August, the single judge had directed JNU not to finalise admissions based on these points or take any further action until 24 August. The order came on a petition filed by Amit Mehra, an applicant seeking admission to a postgraduate course.

Hearing JNU’s appeal, the division bench noted that the deprivation-points system had existed since 1974 and that the interim direction had brought the university’s entire postgraduate admission process to a halt.

The court observed that the e-prospectus was issued on 3 April and admissions began on 25 May. Classes for students admitted after the first round of counselling had already commenced on 30 July.

With PTI inputs