After examining 17 disputed questions in the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) undergraduate entrance exam, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) to revise its marksheet and renotify the final list of selected candidates within four weeks. In effect, of the 17 questions, candidates stand to benefit the most from the revised answer to four questions.
The division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was dealing with a batch of petitions where the aspirants had disputed the answer key published by the Consortium. While the bench accepted some objections, it also rejected some.
The final answer key for the CLAT UG 2025 entrance exam for four paper sets was published on December 7, 2024, after the test was held on December 1, 2024. Initially, a provisional answer key was published on December 2, 2024, and candidates had time to file their objections until 4 pm the next day.
Of the 17 questions the bench examined, it ruled that one was out of the syllabus and held that it be treated as excluded and withdrawn.
In two other questions, the Consortium admitted that it had erred. It said that it had given the wrong option as an answer to one of the two questions without correction or review.
It further stated that “no fault can be found with the candidates for giving correct or incorrect answers,” conceding that consequential benefits may be granted to all the candidates who had attempted this question.
In the second question, the Consortium said “that an error had crept into the various sets handed over to the aspirants”.
Story continues below this ad
To this end, the bench directed that all the CLAT candidates who were handed the three sets, which had error, “shall, as a consequence, be granted the marks indicated against the said question.”
Answers to three of the 17 questions were reviewed by an oversight committee and the bench upheld the answers declared by the oversight committee.
In another question, the bench refused to interfere ”for the reason that the petitioner-in-person never objected at all when the respondent (Consortium) had provided a window for raising such objections post publication of the provisional answer key”.
“This lacunae or default propels this Court to not interfere in the final answer key as declared by the respondent or Consortium, lest it may have a deleterious effect and work to the disadvantage of the candidates who may have attempted and given the correct answers,” the bench said.
Story continues below this ad
The bench differed from the Consortium’s answer for only one of the 17 questions, and held another option as the correct one.
CLAT determines admissions to undergraduate and postgraduate law courses in national law universities in the country.
Earlier, the Supreme Court on February 6 had transferred all the petitions over the issue to the Delhi High Court for a “consistent adjudication”.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
