A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been lodged in the Delhi High Court challenging Delhi University's decision to consider Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2023 scores for admission to the newly introduced five-year integrated law courses.

The plea was presented before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula. The court has temporarily deferred the case.

The PIL, submitted by a law student named Prince Singh, who is studying at DU's Law Faculty, calls for the University to adopt Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores for admissions.

The argument put forth is that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed all central universities to conduct their undergraduate admissions using CUET. While CUET is the basis for admissions in various other courses, Delhi University is relying on CLAT scores for its five-year law courses.

As a result, the plea contends that a particular category of students will be eligible for admission only to the five-year law courses at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.

The plea also highlights that while CLAT is administered solely in English, CUET is conducted in 13 languages, including English and Hindi. This inclusivity of languages in CUET is aligned with the principles of the National Educational Policy.

It is worth noting that Delhi University had long been urged to introduce five-year law courses. The Bar Council of India (BCI) granted approval for 60 seats each in the BA.LL.B. (Hons) and BBA.LL.B. (Hons.) programs through a letter dated July 26, 2023. Delhi University announced that admissions for these integrated programs would be based on CLAT 2023 scores. The classes for both courses are scheduled to take place at the Faculty of Law, Kanad Bhawan, situated in the North Campus of the University of Delhi.