The Delhi High Court directed the NLU Consortium to create a plan for conducting the CLAT in regional languages alongside English, responding to a PIL from law student Sudhanshu Pathak. The court emphasized the importance of inclusivity in entrance exams, recognizing language barriers, and scheduled a follow-up hearing for March 2025.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (Jan 15th) directed the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLU Consortium) to develop a roadmap for conducting the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) in regional languages alongside English. The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by law student Sudhanshu Pathak, urging that CLAT be made available in regional languages.
A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela noted that while the matter falls under policy decisions, it is essential to address the language barrier that may disadvantage students from non-English backgrounds.
“We agree with you (petitioner) that more language backgrounds should be included, but we are not of the opinion that it can be imposed by a mandamus. We hope the policy makers align. We have some reservation in issuing a direction,”
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the Bench remarked.
The court emphasized that steps should be taken to overcome language barriers, stating,
“Entrance exams in regional languages in some sections may be necessary for larger inclusion.”
The Bench suggested that the Consortium prepare a plan to gradually include regional languages in the examination process, stressing,
“You may include some languages in a few years. Can’t make a knee-jerk policy. If there is a barrier, you will have to overcome.”
Currently, CLAT, which governs admissions to 22 National Law Universities for undergraduate (LLB) and postgraduate (LLM) courses, is conducted only in English. The petitioner argued that this excludes a significant number of students who are educated in regional languages.
The court observed,
“We are conscious of the fact that the manner in which tests are conducted is a matter of policy and the courts will be slow to interfere in the area of policy-makers. However, it would be apposite to approach this petition only confined to the question that the entrance examination is not a barrier.”
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The National Testing Agency (NTA) had earlier informed the court that it is equipped to translate CLAT question papers into multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, and Urdu. In its affidavit, the NTA mentioned that it already conducts exams like NEET-UG and JEE Main in various languages and has a pool of experts to facilitate such translations.
“The question papers in respect of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) -UG can be translated into other Indian languages… depending upon the number of candidates,”
the NTA stated. It also suggested that CLAT could be conducted in Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode, similar to JEE and CUET, in consultation with the Consortium.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) and the Central Government supported the idea, emphasizing that no deserving candidate should be deprived of the opportunity to take CLAT due to a lack of proficiency in English.
The court granted time to the Consortium to seek instructions on the matter and scheduled the next hearing for March 18, 2025. The Bench reiterated the importance of making the examination process inclusive, ensuring that language does not become a barrier for aspirants.
Case Title – Sudhanshu Pathak v. Consortium of National Law Universities through Secretary & Ors
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