Admissions to DU 5-year law course: Central government tells Delhi High Court CUET is not mandatory for universities; UGC opposes

The Central government has told the Delhi High Court that the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) is not mandatory for admissions to central universities. .Notably, the position is in stark contrast to the submissions of the University Grants Commission (UGC) that CUET is mandatory for admission to undergraduate and post-graduate courses at central universities.Counsel for the Central government appeared before the Court on August 25 and relied on the National Education Policy (NEP) to state that central universities enjoy autonomy on matters of admission and, therefore, CUET is not mandatory.However, counsel for UGC and said as per its office order dated December 21, 2022, CUET is mandatory. .The submissions were made by before a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula. The Court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the decision of Delhi University (DU) to rely on Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) scores for admissions into its newly introduced five-year integrated law courses. The Centre and the UGC have now been asked to file detailed affidavits stating their positions in a week. The case will be heard next on September 12. .Prince Singh, a student at DU's Faculty of Law, has demanded that the University should implement CUET scores for admission to the five-year courses.It has been argued that the UGC has said that all central universities shall complete their undergraduate admission processes in accordance with CUET. While admission for all other courses is being done through CUET, for the five-year law courses at DU, CLAT scores are being considered.Owing to this, only a separate class/category/segment of students can secure admission to the five-year courses at Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, the plea stated.It is also pointed out that while the CUET is conducted in multiple languages, CLAT is conducted only in English..Petitioner Prince Singh appeared in person. Senior Advocate Pinky Anand with Advocates Mohinder JS Rupal, Hardik Rupal and Sachpreet Kaur appeared for DU. Advocate Ravikesh K Sinha represented the UGC. Central Government Standing Counsel (CGSC) Nidhi Raman with Advocates Zubin Singh and Akash Mishra appeared for the Union of India. ."You are not special:" Delhi High Court to Delhi University for considering CLAT scores instead of CUET for 5-year law courses.[Read Order]