[CA Exams 2021] Plea in Supreme Court for postponement, opt out, extra chance for candidates, increase in exam centres to be taken up tomorrow

The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the hearing in the petitions relating to the upcoming Chartered Accountant (CA) exam 2021. .The matter will be taken up tomorrow. .A Bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Aniruddha Bose was informed by counsel for Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) that it has circulated a note and sought deferment of hearing till tomorrow. Senior Advocate Ramji Srinivasan, appearing for ICAI, also said that the body is aware of the urgency in the matter. The Court then agreed to hear the matter tomorrow. "We will have it tomorrow then. Please email us the note," the Court said. .There are at least three petitions pending before the top court in relation the CA exams scheduled to be held in July..The lead petition filed by Sathya Nayaran Perumal has sought directions to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for allowing an additional attempt to any candidate who fails to appear in the July 2021 Chartered Accountant (CA) examinations in view of Covid-19 restrictions..The plea, which is a public interest litigation filed through advocates Divyansh Tiwari and Hardik Gautam, made it clear that they are not seeking any postponement, cancellation or deferment of exams slotted for July, 2021..The petitioners, instead, sought the following prayers:ICAI to provide an option of alternate attempt to any candidate who fails to appear in the July, 2021 examinations on account of any impediment, caused by the Covid-19 pandemic; ICAI to extend the attempt for CA candidates appearing in CA Integrated Course (IPC) & Final Course with old syllabus; ICAI to waive off the articleship period for one (1) year under present exceptional circumstances; Revised guidelines may be notified and published for rendering the online facility for opening the correction window, including change in centres within a city, till last week of June, 2021; An Independent Authority be appointed to keep a check on the compliance of Covid-19 protocols at examination centres and submit reports on a daily basis with photographs and other evidence concerning proper sanitization of the examination centres; ICAI to withdraw the Advisory dated 11.02.2021 issued to the members & the students about social media posting for grievances and not to take any coercive action including withholding results of the CA candidates Respondents to ensure that the SOP formulated for the conduct of the physical examinations scheduled July, 2021, pan India is uniformly adopted by all the States/ UTs; Notified and published Guidelines formulated by ICAI may be duly and efficiently implemented by ICAI’s Council at each examination centre; ICAI to issue appropriate or alternate measures to overcome the additional considerations and challenges for protection of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of Constitution of India, to the candidates appearing in the scheduled physical examination to be held in July, 2021..The plea by Anubha Srivastava Sahai assailed a June 5 notification issued by the ICAI on the ground that it does not give students the choice to opt out before and during the exams and to carry forward all the benefits.The plea also prayed for an extra attempt to be given to the candidates who are appearing for the intermediate and final exams under the old syllabus..The plea further sought postponement of the scheduled CA exams from July 6 to any later period when the COVID-19 situation normalizes, or until after teachers, students and invigilators are vaccinated.This prayer was made on the ground that adhering to COVID-19 guidelines and vaccination is not possible..The petition also prayed for directions to the authorities to provide free transport and accommodation near the exam centres from July 6 to July 20 for intermediate and final course students, and from July 24 for foundation course students..[CA Exams 2021] Plea in Supreme Court seeks opt-out option, extra chance for candidates, increase in exam centres.Another plea filed by one Amit Jain is also pending before the apex court. .Apart from these petitions, over 6,000 students had written a letter to Chief Justice of India NV Ramana flagging three major concerns with regard to the proposed examination..The following three concerns were raised in the letter:- No Opt-Out Option has been provided to the students;- No Extension Of Old Course Attempts;No Additional attempt for the students who are unable to appear due to COVID-19..[CA Exams 2021] 6,000 students write to CJI NV Ramana seeking opt-out option, additional attempt in case of failure to appear due to COVID-19.The letter said that these concerns were raised by them before the Institute Of Chartered Accountants Of India (ICAI) which failed to address these concerns in totality.The CA examinations are scheduled to begin from July 5 and approximately 3 lakh students will be appearing in these exams from all over India.