May 23, 2018

On Wednesday, Supreme Court will hear a Petition filed by 6 students demanding a retest of Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), 2018.

Petition highlights various instances of “grossly improper, arbitrary & negligent conduct” of the examination, & claims that students from more than 15 States are likely to join the petition in very soon.

Petition lists down numerous hardships faced by the students due to the technical glitches in this year’s examination & submits that several students lost about 5 to 30 minutes due to such issues.

It places on record other problems faced by the students, including poor infrastructure of examination centers, lack of proper guidance from staff recruited by the examination centers & copying.

It further adds that,“Lackadaisical implementation of CLAT 2018 has severely jeopardized the future of students who have sacrificed precious years to get a fair chance for those 2 hours, which was conveniently taken away from them on account of gross negligence exhibited by the CLAT Convener.”

Petition cites organizing NLU-NUALS Kochi’s Vice Chancellor Prof. Rose Varghese's response who has stated  that such issues were faced only by 1.5% of the total students. It then submits that even with such assertions, at least 850 students were denied an opportunity to take the exam in a “ fair, effective & transparent manner”.

The petition further highlights the fact that neither have the students’ representations been acknowledged by the authorities nor has an expert committee been appointed to look into the important issues.

Alleging violation of their Fundamental Rights guaranteed under the Constitution, it submits,“Respondent 2 [NUALS, Kochi] & 3 [Core Committee- CLAT 2018] cannot be permitted to take advantage of their own wrong & the shield of limited time schedule for the examination. This deliberate executive inaction by Respondent No. 2 & 3 hits at the very basis of the principles of accountability, fair play, transparency and is violative of Articles 14 & 21 of the Constitution"

"the very semblance of “Equal Opportunity” preserved & protected under Article 16 is lost if the Common Entrance Examination of such a stature is marred with replete instances of gross negligence & mismanagement. The most severely affected category would be that of students who're meritorious & have invested countless hours over months, if not years, preparing to make their names in prestigious National Law Universities.”

With these submissions, the Petition demands quashing of the exam, & conducting it afresh. It further seeks a stay on the publication of the final result till the disposal of the Petition, asserting that due to the mismanagement, the merit list released would be “flawed”. Besides, it also seeks constitution of a committee of experts to look into the grievances raised by the students.

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