CLAT 2021: No change in exam date, offline exam will be conducted on July 23, says SC

CLAT 2021 Update: The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday morning refused a plea that was seeking the postponement of the Common Law Entrance Test 2021. As per the schedule, the CLAT, 2021 will be conducted on July 23, 2021. The apex court has given strict instructions that the COVID guidelines should be followed at all the examination centres.

SC removes criterion of allowing only vaccinated candidates

In the judgment declared on July 20, the Supreme Court has also removed the criterion that every candidate sitting for the examination should be vaccinated. This comes in line with the NLU consortium mentioning in its notice that all the candidates appearing for the examination should be vaccinated. The court said that students should not be insisted to take vaccination by authorities. Also, the court mentioned that it is impossible for candidates below 18 years of age to get themselves vaccinated. 

"Its been submitted that it will be difficult for students residing in areas of lockdown to take the exam. The examination is scheduled to be held on July 23rd and we don't deem it proper to postpone the exam at this stage. However, we see force in submission that all safety measures have to be strictly followed. Authorities should not insist on Students taking vaccination." the Bench said

All these decisions were while the Supreme Court was hearing the plea filed from an NGO based in Delhi. The NGO named Justice For All in its petition insisted that either CLAT should be postponed till the time COVID situation normalizes or online mode of  examination should be practiced. However, it is confirmed and there is no change in it that the CLAT 2021 will be held in pen and paper mode. The mode will be the same for both Under Graduate and Post Graduate students.

Exam can't be postponed: SC

A bench of Justice Nageshwar Rao and Aniruddha Bose dismissed the plea in Supreme Court today. Moreover, they said that it is not possible to cancel or postpone the examination at this stage. The bench strictly said that it is mandatory to follow all the safety measures and COVID guidelines. "Guidelines should be followed with all strictness in the examination halls," the bench said.