The Supreme Court September 21 said the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru has to conduct the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2020 for admission as the NLAT 2020 result is not valid.
The apex court added that the CLAT 2020 will be conducted as per procedure to ensure that NSLIU can go ahead with its admissions. This means that NLAT 2020 that was conducted on September 12 will be not valid for admissions into NSLIU.
On September, NLSIU had decided it would conduct its own entrance examination for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses. This was in response to the common law entrance test CLAT 2020 being postponed.
The university had also said that NLAT will only be used for admissions in 2020 and that NSLIU will go back to CLAT-led admissions from 2021.
The apex court asked NLSIU in the September 17 hearing as to why only 20,000 students appeared for NLAT despite the university being among the top law schools of the country. The court also questioned if there was enough time to apply.
During the hearing, senior advocate Nidhesh Gupta appearing for the petitioners said that holding a separate examination is a violation of bye-laws.
There were also allegations of the question paper being leaked. However, senior advocate Arvind Datar appearing for NLSIU said that an FIR has been lodged on the paper leak matter.
Senior advocate Sajan Poovayya appearing for the vice-chancellor of NLSIU added that students indulging in malpractices were disqualified from the examination. He added that home-based online proctored testing was a decision that had the unanimous approval of the entire NLSIU faculty.
In its hearing on September 12, the Supreme Court had said while the NLSIU, Bengaluru, can hold its entrance test National Law Aptitude Test (NLAT), 2020, on September 12, the results cannot be declared before the apex court decides on the matter.
Also read: All you need to know about NLSIU's new entrance test
The issue pertains to a joint petition filed by a parent of a Common Law Admission Test (CLAT 2020) aspirant and the former NLSIU vice-chancellor R Venkata Rao in the apex court, challenging the sudden withdrawal of the standard law entrance test.
Though the CLAT is the entrance exam for admission into all national law universities, NLSIU announced on September 3 that it will conduct its own entrance examination for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
