Petition Filed in Supreme Court to Stay CLAT 2025 Results Over Alleged Procedural Lapses

Latest Update: On 10th December, 2024 a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, while hearing a plea challenging the provisional answer key for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) postgraduate admissions, directed the petitioners to approach the Delhi High Court with their concerns.

Declining to entertain the plea, the bench emphasized that the Supreme Court cannot serve as the court of first instance in such cases and highlighted the potential for delays in examination results if the apex court intervenes prematurely.

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging several issues in the conduct of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2025. The petition claims that procedural lapses during the exam have compromised its fairness and transparency.

Filed by aggrieved students who appeared for the CLAT LLM test, the plea raises concerns about errors in the question paper, technical glitches, and the lack of an effective system for addressing grievances. The petition also questions handling of the provisional answer key released on December 2, 2024, alleging that at least 12 answers were incorrect.

The petitioners, Anam Khan and Ayush Agarwal, represented by a team of advocates including Manasi Bhushan, Shakshi Sharma, and Sanjana Patel, argue that candidates were given just one day to raise objections to the provisional answer key, with the objection portal closing on December 3 at 4 PM.

They also take issue with the high fees required to challenge answers, stating that candidates had to pay ₹1,000 per objection, even after already paying ₹4,000 as examination fees. This financial burden, they argue, is unreasonable and discriminatory.

Further, the petitioners allege unequal treatment during the exam. They claim that their sealed envelopes containing the question booklet and OMR response sheet were distributed after 2 PM, although they were supposed to receive them at 1:50 PM.

They contend that these lapses violate their fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21A of the Constitution, which ensure equality and the right to education.

In light of these issues, the petitioners have requested the Court to stay the publication of the CLAT 2025 results, scheduled for December 10, and the counselling process based on these results. They have also called for a stay on the final answer key, which is set to be released on December 9.

The petition has added to growing concerns among law aspirants, many of whom have already expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the exam.