Delhi High Court lets JNU resume PG admissions using deprivation points

JNU can continue postgraduate admissions under its 2026-27 prospectus, including the disputed system of deprivation points, after the Delhi High Court modified an earlier interim order that had paused the process.

A Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said every admission made under the challenged provisions would remain subject to the final decision on Amit Mehra’s petition. Mehra is seeking admission to a postgraduate course at the university.

Deprivation points are additional marks for applicants from certain geographically disadvantaged areas. The court noted that the policy has operated since 1974 and questioned how admissions could be stopped without a prima facie finding that the practice was illegal.

The university issued its 2026-27 e-prospectus on April 3 and began admissions on May 25. First-round postgraduate classes had started on July 30. A single-judge Bench had directed on August 14 that admissions based on deprivation points should not be finalised until August 24.

The Division Bench has asked the single-judge Bench to decide the petition at the earliest.