The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) to publish revised results for the CLAT-PG 2024 examination, awarding marks to all candidates for two disputed questions found to have incorrect answers in the official key.
The judgment was delivered by a division bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela. The court held that the official responses to two of the three remaining contested questions were erroneous and directed that all candidates who attempted those questions be given marks, regardless of the option chosen.
Background of the Case
The matter arose from a batch of petitions filed by CLAT candidates challenging multiple questions in the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2024 for both Undergraduate (UG) and Postgraduate (PG) programs. Initially, objections were raised against eight PG questions. During the course of the hearing, four questions were withdrawn by the Consortium during a meeting in April. A fifth question was later withdrawn after the court reserved judgment, due to inconsistencies between the test booklet and the master key.
This left three PG questions for judicial adjudication. In its 18-page judgment, the High Court ruled that two of those three questions contained incorrect answers in the official answer key.
No Refund of ₹1,000 Objection Fee, But Consortium Urged to Review It
The court declined to quash the ₹1,000 fee charged for raising objections against the provisional answer key. However, it observed that the amount may be excessive compared to fees levied by other national-level entrance exams.
“While the fee is meant to deter frivolous challenges, particularly by coaching institutes, it appears excessive compared to other national-level institutions,” the bench observed. The court refrained from ordering a refund, stating that most candidates had already paid and retrospective relief could give rise to further litigation. It suggested that the issue be referred to the Consortium’s grievance redressal committee for consideration in future exams.
Broader Context: UG Controversy and Supreme Court Intervention
The present petitions were transferred to the Delhi High Court by the Supreme Court on February 6, 2025, in an attempt to avoid conflicting decisions by different High Courts. Challenges related to both UG and PG CLAT 2024 results — declared on December 7, 2024 — were brought under the High Court’s jurisdiction.
The CLAT answer key had previously come under legal scrutiny in December 2024, following a Delhi High Court order in a case filed by an undergraduate aspirant. That judgment, dated April 23, 2025, had directed revised UG results, which was stayed by the Supreme Court on April 30.
On May 7, the Supreme Court had criticised the Consortium for “casual” framing of CLAT UG questions and for providing answers inconsistent with existing legal precedents. It directed revisions to six UG questions, and the final answer key was updated on May 17, with total marks reduced to 113. UG counselling commenced the same day.
