On Wednesday, the National Testing Agency (NTA) informed the Delhi High Court that it has the capability to administer the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) in vernacular languages also other than just English.
At present, the examination that regulates admissions to 22 national law universities nationwide for LLB and LLM programs is exclusively conducted in the English language.

The NTA submitted a formal statement to the Court in the form of an affidavit, in which it mentioned that it conducts examinations such as NEET-UG, JEE, and various others in multiple languages. Consequently, the NTA has a well-established team of experts and translators proficient in a diverse array of subjects, enabling the preparation of question papers in various languages.
As per NTAs contention, “the question papers in respect of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) -UG can be translated into other Indian languages, such as Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu and design/ printing the requisite OMR Answer Sheet in the required quantity depending upon the number of candidates to be scheduled for the said Test.” The NTA further stated that if it were tasked with conducting CLAT (UG) 2024, it would be feasible to schedule the examination sometime during the third or fourth week of January 2024. This is noteworthy as the originally scheduled date for the exams is December 3, 2023.

The agency emphasized that it requires a minimum of four months to complete various essential tasks such as developing, moderating, translating, proofreading, vetting, or validating question papers, finalizing examination centres in major cities following established practices, coordinating the movement of examination personnel and materials to the examination cities/centres, and addressing other pre-examination preparations.
The NTA also noted that it has the capability to conduct CLAT (UG) in a Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode, similar to how it conducts examinations like JEE (Main) and CUET (UG), subject to consultation and coordination with the Consortium of National Law Universities.

The NTA submitted its affidavit as a response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Sudhanshu Pathak, a law student, who has requested that CLAT be conducted in regional languages in addition to English.
It's worth noting that the Bar Council of India (BCI) has expressed its willingness to conduct the CLAT in regional languages as well. The BCI emphasized that no deserving candidate should be excluded from taking the CLAT simply because they may not be proficient in English. The bar association argued that it has prior experience in conducting similar examinations, such as the All-India Bar Examination, in a manner that is both fair and transparent.

Additionally, it's important to highlight that the Central government has also provided its approval and consent to conducting the CLAT in regional languages.