Delhi High Court refuses to stay order calling for revised CLAT 2025 results

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to stay a single-judge order directing the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLU Consortium) to revise the results of the Common Law Admission Test 2025 (CLAT-UG) after accounting for errors found in two questions. .A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela opined that it prima facie found no error in the single-judge's findings. "Prima facie, we find no error in the single-judge decision on the two questions being demonstrably wrong. The single-judge considered the questions carefully, a different view would not be plausible. Prima facie, we concur...We are unable to accept any ad interim order needs to be passed at this stage," the Division Bench said today..Acting Chief Justice Bakhru also questioned why the two apparent errors were not corrected by the CLAT's expert committees. "The single judge was charitable in saying that the questions were demonstrably wrong. Perhaps it warrants something more to be said...It shocks our conscience that you have two committees...Questionable if there is any application of mind...If you have four wrong answers, which wrong answer will you eliminate? Tell us why - apart from saying that your committees said so," he said. The Bench clarified that the NLU Consortium can proceed with declaring the results in line with the single-judge order, and posted the case for further hearing on January 7, 2025. .On December 20, single-judge Justice Jyoti Singh had partly allowed a plea filed by a 17-year-old CLAT candidate regarding certain errors alleged in the paper for undergraduate admissions to National Law Universities (NLUs).Justice Singh concluded that there were clear errors in two out of five questions flagged by the CLAT candidate. The single-judge opined that the Court cannot take a hands-off approach when such clear errors are made out.The Court, therefore, directed the Consortium of NLUs to announce revised results after making changes in the award of marks with regard to these two questions. It added that the revised results would be applicable for all CLAT candidates..This ruling has now been challenged by both the NLU Consortium as well as the CLAT candidate on whose petition the December 20 ruling was passed.The NLU Consortium has argued the single-judge had wrongly donned the hat of an expert and should not have interfered with exam answers that were finalised by experts. Therefore, the NLU Consortium has called upon the High Court's Division Bench to set aside the single-judge order.Meanwhile, the CLAT aspirant has filed an appeal to modify the single-judge ruling to a limited extent. He pointed out that the single-judge had ordered corrections for only two out of the five errors flagged by him. He has contended that there are 'blatant mistakes' in three more questions. He has, thus, filed an appeal urging the Division Bench to order corrections with respect to these three questions as well..[Read Live Coverage]