Exclusive: Allahabad High Court quashes CLAT age limit rule; RMLNLU given 1 week to update website [READ JUDGMENT]

Even as the last date for submission of applications for CLAT 2015 approaches, the Allahabad High Court passed an order quashing the maximum age rule prescribed in the rules of admission for this year’s exam..A group of prospective law students, led by Devasheesh Pathak petitioned the High Court to quash the rule after their online applications were rejected as they were shown to be overage. The rule fixed the maximum age limit at 20 years for general students and 22 years for SC/ST and PWD students..The Bar Council of India had prescribed the maximum age limit of 20 years by means of Clause 28, Schedule III Rule 11 of the Legal Education Rules, 2008. However, later on the BCI withdrew the said condition by issuing a notification in the gazette, after the Punjab and Haryana High Court deemed the rule to be ultra vires the Advocates Act..The respondents, including the Bar Council of India and RMLNLU Lucknow had not responded to notices sent on the 4th of February. Justice Shashi Kant Gupta, while pronouncing the order took this into consideration, but held,.“However, keeping in view the nature of the case and the urgency involved in the matter, this matter is being heard and decided finally so that the students who are appearing for CLAT-2015 may not have any kind of uncertainty and confusion and their preparation for CLAT-2015 may not be hampered.”.Justice Gupta also failed to find any provision either under the State Universities or under the National Law School of India Act, 1986 which empowered the conducting university to fix the upper age limit in this year’s CLAT..“…there is no upper age limit for taking admission in any other examination i.e. B. Ed., C. A., C. S. and M. B. A. as restriction of the age to take admission violates the fundamental right as envisaged under Article-19 of the Constitution of India…rules framed by the BCI are mandatory in nature and must be followed by all the concerned Colleges and Universities recognized by it.”.Last week, the Rajasthan High Court had passed an interim order to the same effect after two first year students from NLSIU Bangalore filed a PIL..Justice Gupta further held,.“The Vice Chancellor/Convener of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University is directed to accept the petitioners’ admission form and to allow the petitioners-candidates as well as the other similarly situated candidates to appear in CLAT-2015 examination subject to their satisfying other conditions of eligibility…”.He also directed RMLNLU to upgrade its website within a week of receiving a copy of the order.