The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLU Consortium) has appealed against a Delhi High Court single-judge order directing a revision of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2025 results due to alleged errors in the question paper and answer key. The appeal, filed before the High Court’s Division Bench, argues that the single judge overstepped legal boundaries by questioning the expertise of the committees responsible for the final answer key.
The case stems from a petition filed by a 17-year-old CLAT aspirant, Aditya Singh (Minor), who highlighted errors in five questions in the undergraduate CLAT 2025 paper. On December 20, Justice Jyoti Singh partially allowed the plea, finding “clear errors” in two out of the five questions flagged. She directed the NLU Consortium to revise the results and apply the corrections to all candidates.
“The Court cannot take a hands-off approach when such clear errors are made out,” Justice Singh remarked in her order. She emphasized that fairness and accuracy in competitive examinations must be ensured, even if it necessitates judicial intervention.
However, the NLU Consortium has argued that the single-judge’s ruling undermines the authority of subject experts. Its appeal states:
“The single judge, contrary to the settled legal position, has examined the answers in the Final Answer Key, by donning the hat of an appellate Subject Expert. The learned judge has substituted her own views for those of the internal committees of the Appellant (NLU Consortium).”
The Consortium further contends that courts lack jurisdiction to intervene in academic matters, stating, “It is settled law that a court cannot assume the role of experts in academic matters or in matters concerning competitive exams.”
The candidate who filed the original plea has also appealed to the Division Bench, asserting that the single-judge erred in correcting only two of the five flagged questions. His appeal describes the remaining three questions as containing “blatant mistakes” and seeks an order directing corrections for these as well.
Both appeals are set to be heard tomorrow, potentially impacting the future of thousands of CLAT candidates.
Case: Consortium of National Law Universities vs Aditya Singh (Minor) – Available on LAWFYI.IO
