The Delhi High Court has issued an interim order permitting Delhi University (DU) to use the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT UG 2023) scores for admissions into its newly introduced five-year Integrated Law course for the academic year 2023-24.
The order was passed by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula, in a plea challenging DU’s decision to offer admission in five year course solely based on CLAT-UG 2023 scores.
The court justified its order by noting that classes for the current academic year have already commenced in other universities. It further observed that the case requires detailed consideration and decided to hear the matter in November 2023.
Interestingly, the Union Government had previously informed the Delhi High Court that the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) is not obligatory for Central Universities, asserting their autonomy in admission matters.
This stance contrasted with the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) initial position that all Central Universities must adhere to CUET scores for undergraduate or postgraduate admissions.
However, the UGC later revised its stance, supporting DU’s decision to rely on CLAT scores.
The current plea seeks to enforce the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) scheme of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) UG 2023 for admissions into all undergraduate programmes in Central Universities for the academic session 2023-24.
The petitioner argues that DU’s law faculty imposed an unreasonable and arbitrary condition for admission, violating the fundamental Right to Equality under Article 14 and the Right to Education recognised under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
The petitioner further contends that the CUET (UG) exam, conducted in 13 languages, is more inclusive, diverse, and aligned with the National Educational Policy’s mandate.