In a move aimed at streamlining the legal proceedings surrounding the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2025, the Supreme Court has indicated its intention to transfer all related petitions to a single high court. During a session on Wednesday, Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar issued notices to the lawyers representing parties across various high courts, suggesting the Punjab and Haryana High Court as the prospective venue for a consolidated hearing.
The legal disputes arise from allegations of errors in the CLAT 2025 question paper, with multiple petitions currently pending in high courts including Delhi and Karnataka. The Supreme Court’s proposal aims to provide an authoritative judgement on the matter by centralizing the cases.
The Consortium of National Law Universities (CNLUs), responsible for administering the CLAT, has sought the transfer of these cases through their advocate, Pritha Srikumar Iyer, with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta representing them in the apex court. The transfer pleas are set for consideration in the week starting February 3, 2025.
This decision comes in the wake of various rulings by lower courts on the contentious issues surrounding the test. On December 20, 2024, a single judge of the Delhi High Court had directed the CNLUs to revise the CLAT 2025 results, pointing out errors in the official answer key which affected the accuracy of the results. This verdict addressed a petitioner’s concerns over incorrect answers listed in the December 7, 2024, answer key publication.
Subsequent to the single judge’s directive, the case was escalated to a division bench, which on December 24, upheld the decision, refusing to issue an interim order against it. The bench’s agreement with the lower court’s findings allowed for the declaration of the revised results as per the initial judgement.
