At present, petitions related to the CLAT-2025 results are pending in several High Courts, including those in Delhi, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab & Haryana.
NEW DELHI: On January 15, 2025, the Supreme Court considered to transfer petitions challenging the results of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2025 to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
These petitions were filed in various High Courts across India following the CLAT-2025 exam held in December 2024 for admissions to undergraduate and post-graduate law courses in National Law Universities (NLUs).
A bench consisting of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar issued a notice regarding the transfer petitions filed by the Consortium of National Law Universities. The Consortium has requested the consolidation of all these petitions and their transfer to either the Supreme Court or a specific High Court.
“We can’t take it here, we already rejected under Article 32. We will send you to a High Court. Petitions in different States shall be dealt with by one court. This is to ensure that the matters are heard expeditiously and to avoid contradictory judgments,” the Court remarked.
At present, petitions related to the CLAT-2025 results are pending in several High Courts, including those in Delhi, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab & Haryana.
As soon as the matter was brought up, CJI Sanjiv Khanna indicated that the bench was inclined to send the case to a specific High Court. This was because the Supreme Court had previously declined to entertain a similar petition and had advised the petitioners to approach the High Court.
Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, supported this view and suggested that the petitions could be sent to the Karnataka High Court. However, CJI Khanna pointed out that the first petition had been filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
He added, “At the P&H High Court, the disposal rate is very good, it is higher than the other Courts.”
Some lawyers representing the students requested that the Delhi High Court be chosen, highlighting that the Delhi High Court had already passed an order stating that two answers in the exam were wrong.
One of the counsels pleaded, “We are requesting with folded hands.”
However, CJI Khanna responded firmly, saying, “Law students should not fold their hands.”
The bench then dictated the following order:
“The writ petitions pending in different courts should be dealt with in one High Court, as it would be expeditious. Issue notice returnable in the week commencing 3rd February 2025. Notices will be served to the counsels appearing for the petitioners before different HCs. The bench is of the view that the matters can be transferred to P&H HC.”
Earlier, in December 2024, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a petition challenging the answer keys of the CLAT-PG 2025 exam. The Court had directed the petitioners to approach the High Court instead.
On December 20, 2024, Justice Jyoti Singh of the High Court partly accepted the plea filed by 17-year-old CLAT candidate Aditya, who had raised concerns about errors in certain questions of the undergraduate admissions test for National Law Universities (NLUs).
Justice Singh concluded that there were clear mistakes in two out of the five questions flagged by Aditya. The judge emphasized that the court could not ignore such clear errors and directed the Consortium of NLUs to announce revised results after adjusting the marks for these two questions.
This decision was challenged in the Division Bench of the High Court by both the NLU Consortium and Singh, who had filed the initial petition. The NLU Consortium argued that the single-judge had overstepped by acting as an expert and interfering with the exam answers that were finalized by experts. Meanwhile, Singh’s appeal sought to modify the ruling slightly, arguing that corrections should also be made for three other questions where he found “blatant mistakes.”
Subsequently, the NLU Consortium moved the Supreme Court to transfer the matter to the top court. The High Court has adjourned the case for a hearing on January 30, 2025.
In addition, the CLAT PG exam results have also faced controversy due to incorrect answer keys, with petitions challenging the results pending in both the Madhya Pradesh High Court and the Bombay High Court.
Case Name: CONSORTIUM OF NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITIES VS. MASTER ADITYA SINGH, MINOR
FOLLOW US FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES ON YOUTUBE
