The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Monday informed the Delhi High Court that it is likely to reconsider its decision to use Common Law Admission Test (CLAT-PG) scores as the basis for recruiting legal professionals. The authority also announced an extension of the application deadline from September 10 to September 25.
A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was apprised of the development during the hearing of a petition challenging NHAI’s August 11 notification. The notification sought to engage 44 young legal professionals based on their CLAT-PG scores from 2022 onwards.
The plea, filed by advocate Shannu Bahgel, contended that CLAT-PG is conducted solely to assess candidates’ eligibility for pursuing a master’s degree in law and cannot form the basis for public employment. “There does not appear to be any reasonable or rational nexus between the objects sought to be achieved and the basis of preparation of merit for such selection,” the petitioner argued.
It was further submitted that restricting recruitment exclusively to candidates who appeared in CLAT-PG 2022 and subsequent years unfairly excludes other law graduates and practising advocates who are equally qualified. The criteria, the petitioner said, was “arbitrary and unreasonable.”
The bench had earlier noted that the rationale behind CLAT-PG is to evaluate academic merit for higher legal studies, not for government employment.
Recording NHAI’s submission that the matter may be reconsidered, the court posted the case for further hearing on September 18.
