On Monday, the Delhi High Court granted approval for the University of Delhi (DU) to utilize the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2022 scores as a basis for admitting students to its recently introduced five-year LLB program this year.

The decision was made by a division bench consisting of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula. They issued the order after observing that classes for other courses had already commenced and that the matter before the Court necessitates a thorough and careful examination.

This was decided when the Court was addressing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition lodged by a law student named Prince Singh. In his petition, Prince Singh advocated for the consideration of Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores rather than CLAT scores for admission to the course.

During the proceedings, Senior Advocate Pinky Anand represented DU and pointed out that the CUET prospectus did not include the five-year course at the time when the Bar Council of India (BCI) granted DU permission to offer the 5-year LLB degree. Simultaneously, the Central government and the University Grants Commission (UGC) informed the Court that, in accordance with the National Education Policy and the 566th meeting of the UGC, CUET is obligatory for admission to general degree programs.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the Central government, emphasized that Central universities possess the authority to utilize examinations such as CLAT, NEET, and other similar assessments as a basis for admitting students into professional programs like law, medicine, and management.

The Court acknowledged that the primary issue under consideration was whether admissions to Central universities could be awarded exclusively based on the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), or if these institutions had the discretion to consider other examinations for the same purpose.

The Court had previously also raised concerns about the conflicting positions taken by the Central government and the University Grants Commission (UGC) regarding this matter. The Central government had maintained that CUET was not obligatory, while the UGC had argued otherwise.

In a prior hearing, the Court had specifically requested the UGC Chairman to provide a clear and definitive stance on the issue. Following the Court's request, the UGC Chairman submitted a response clarifying that CUET is not compulsory for all courses, and universities have the flexibility to consider scores from examinations such as CLAT and NEET for admissions into professional programs.

The Court has designated Senior Advocate Arun Bhardwaj as the Amicus Curiae and instructed the Court's registry to provide him with all the pertinent case files. The Court scheduled the next hearing for this matter on November 23, indicating that it will be further deliberated upon at that time.

Case details:-

Prince Singh v. Faculty of Law, University of Delhi & Ors.