The Delhi High Court on Wednesday set aside a notification issued by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) that had made candidates’ scores in the Common Law Admission Test for Postgraduates (CLAT-PG) the basis for recruiting legal professionals.
A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela allowed the writ petition filed by lawyer Shannu Bahgel, who had challenged the August 11 notification. “The writ petition is allowed. Resultantly, the recruitment criteria given in the notification is quashed,” the court declared while pronouncing its verdict. The detailed judgment is awaited.
Earlier, on September 18, the court had stayed the notification, remarking that there seemed to be “no rationale” behind using CLAT-PG scores as the selection benchmark. The bench noted that the CLAT-PG examination was designed to assess merit for pursuing higher studies in law, not for determining eligibility 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 had argued, contending that public employment could not be restricted to candidates who appeared in CLAT-PG 2022 onwards.
Bahgel argued that the notification was “arbitrary and unreasonable,” as it excluded law graduates and practising advocates otherwise fully qualified for the posts. He stressed that CLAT-PG scores are relevant only for admission into LL.M. programmes and not for assessing professional competence for legal services.
The petition specifically challenged the recruitment process that sought to engage 44 “young professionals (legal)” based solely on CLAT-PG scores.
NHAI’s Defence
Defending the move, NHAI’s counsel argued that CLAT-PG scores provided a “reasonable benchmark” to gauge a candidate’s legal acumen, while also pointing out that the authority considered candidates’ experience in addition to their exam performance.
Rejecting the NHAI’s justification, the court ruled in favour of the petitioner, quashing the August 11 notification. The verdict ensures that CLAT-PG scores cannot be made the exclusive criterion for public employment in the authority’s legal recruitments.
