Law admissions to Guru Gobind Singh IP University can take place through CLAT: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court today held that the law admissions to Guru Gobind Singh IP University for this academic year can take place through the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT)..The Vacation Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and MR Shah stated that there was no need for Guru Gobind Singh IP University (GGSIPU) to use the Common Entrance Test (CET) for its admissions..The University through AOR Ranjeeta Rohatgi had approached the Supreme Court against the order of the Delhi High Court dated April 1, restricting it from adopting CLAT scores for admissions to the law courses. The University contended that the Government’s order and the University’s subsequent circular issued in February this year with respect to conducting admissions based on CLAT were issued to ensure more transparency in the admission process..The High Court’s order constrained the petitioner to undertake a fresh CET at this belated stage and the same would cause irreparable loss and injury to the petitioner..“the Petitioners would suffer irreparable loss & injury, if the order passed by the Hon’ble High Court is not stayed whereas no prejudice would be caused to the Respondents nor they would suffer in any manner what-so-ever due to the stay as prayed for,” the petition states..In the Supreme Court, counsel for the respondent Self-Financing Educational Institutions Association had objected to allowing the University to use CLAT scores. It was submitted that the last date for application for CLAT is over and that the candidates would face a serious drawback if GGSIPU was allowed to use CLAT scores..The Supreme Court, however, observed that there was no need to revert to CET for this academic year, and thus set aside the High Court’s order..The University was represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta along with Advocate Ekta Sikri, while the respondent was represented by Senior Advocate PS Patwalia..By an order dated February 11, the Directorate of Higher Education of the Delhi Government had permitted GGSIPU to adopt National Level Tests for admission to certain courses from the academic year 2019-20. One of these tests was CLAT 2019. Subsequently, GGSIPU issued a circular stating that it was likely to admit students in the law programs for the Academic Session 2019-20, through CLAT-UG and CLAT-PG..These two notifications were challenged in the Delhi High Court for being in the teeth of the provisions of Delhi Professional Colleges or Institutions (Prohibitions of Capitation Fee, Regulation of Admission, Fixation of Non-Exploitative Fee and Other Measures to Ensure Equity and Excellence) Act, 2007..It was argued that a Common Entrance Test (CET) was required to be conducted by a ‘designated agency’ and there was no provision in the Act which permitted adoption of the score of another agency in order to affect admissions to courses in an institution..Therefore, the CET would necessarily have to be held by the GGSIPU itself – as had been happening in the past – and counseling would also have to be conducted by the same University, it was contended..The Court observed that prima facie, the Act does not require the institution which is affecting admissions through a CET to itself be the designated agency which conducts the said test..It, however, stated that there was no notification designating the agency conducting the CLAT as the designated agency for effecting admissions to courses being conducted by the GGSIPU for the academic session 2019-2020..The Court, therefore, held that the in the absence of any such notification, prima facie, the entire exercise of adoption of the scores of the CLAT for making admissions to the law courses conducted by the GGSIPU was completely vitiated..The High Court thus concluded that the entire exercise of adoption of the score of the CLAT, as a basis for effecting admissions to law courses conducted by the GGSIPU was prima facie completely contrary to the provisions of the 2007 Act..This order has now been set aside by the Supreme Court, thus paving the way for Guru Gobind Singh IP University to use CLAT 2019 scores for its admissions..Read the petition:.Read order:.Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.