Recently, the Delhi High Court has put on hold the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) plan to select lawyers on the basis of Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) postgraduate scores. The court said the method appeared to have “no rational basis” and questioned its relevance to employment. The interim direction was passed while the bench reserved its judgment on a plea challenging the recruitment notification.
The controversy began after NHAI issued an advertisement that made CLAT PG marks the basis for hiring legal professionals. A Bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, with Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, heard arguments on whether such an academic entrance test could serve as a valid recruitment tool for professional roles.
NHAI’s counsel defended the decision by describing CLAT as a reasonable yardstick for testing legal aptitude, adding that experience in contractual matters was also considered in the selection process. On the other side, the petitioners maintained that CLAT PG is specifically designed as an entrance exam for LLM admissions, not for assessing employability, and therefore could not be treated as a fair benchmark for hiring.
The Bench shared similar concerns, pointing out that the entrance test evaluates academic readiness rather than professional competence. The Court noted that different skills are required for higher studies and for service in a statutory body. The Bench further highlighted that National Law University, Delhi, which ranks highly in national assessments, is not even a participant in CLAT PG, thereby raising questions of fairness and inclusivity. The Court also dismissed NHAI’s reliance on practices of other public sector undertakings, remarking that such reasoning did not justify the move.
Reserving its decision, the High Court directed that NHAI shall not move forward with the impugned recruitment process until its final verdict is delivered.
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