Supreme Court refuses to order postponement of CA exams

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea seeking the postponement of the Chartered Accountant exams (CA exam) held by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)..The CA exams are scheduled to be held close to the dates of Lok Sabha elections in certain States.A Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud held that altering the exam dates would disrupt the extensive arrangements already in place for the conduct of the exams and that it could result in grave injustice for some students. "Scheduling of exams pertains to policy decisions. But weighing the importance of right to vote we have examined the proposition of candidates who shall be appearing for exams and would also need to vote. 591 centres are there and no exams on polling dates. At this stage when 4 lakh plus students have enrolled any relief at this stage would result in grave prejudice," the Court said. .The Court also reasoned that any order to provide an option to "opt-out" of some of the exams could adversely affect students who are planning to clear the exams in a single attempt."We find force in ICAI's submissions that opt out of options would prejudice those students who take all papers in a single attempt. COVID arrangements stand on a completely different footing as it was a public health crisis. Thus we shall not intervene. Dismissed," the Court said..The CA exams are slated to start from May 2 and would go on till May 17. Several students had sought for the exams scheduled for May 8 and May 14 to be pushed to another date since elections are going to be held in certain States on May 7 and May 13, 2024..Appearing for aggrieved CA aspirants/ students, Senior Advocate Madhavi Diwan had submitted,"There are students from Kalahandi and other rural areas who will not be able to appear for the exams on 8th and 14th May since elections are on. It can be on 7th and 13th May."She added that the students are not insisting on any bulk postponement of the CA exams, and suggested that it would suffice if even an "opt-out" option was given to students who would find it difficult to attend the exams on May 8 and May 14. "We are not asking for a bulk postponement. If there is a bunch of candidates from Rajouri. Now they can only come by public transport. With security issues, it is impossible to travel and public buses also withdrawn during elections. Hostels are also being asked to vacate. One we are asking postpone and if not possible then at least allow an out option so that one does not suffer if they are not appearing on May 8 and May 14," she said. She also suggested that increasing the number of exam centres could help several students. "Other option can be to increase centres. Delhi, Mumbai students will not suffer. But those coming from North East, etc. who need to travel states have to suffer. Petitioners are candidates who will not be affected but this plea is for the public interest," she said. .The counsel representing the ICAI, however, opposed any proposal to postpone any of the exams. He pointed out that comprehensive arrangements have already made to hold the exams, and that lakhs of students have already prepared for it. The exams were earlier postponed only in exceptional circumstances, such as in the face of the COVID pandemic, he added. The COVID-era measure was not called for in the present scenario, he said. The Court was also told that the ICAI had made sure that none of the exams clash with poll dates. "4,36,246 students have already prepared. 390 centres across India. Admit cards, security system all in place. This system has subserved candidates all these years. Only in COVID it was postponed since the problem could spread. Here nobody is here from Rajouri or Kalahandi etc. ... 3,700 candidates already flagged the issue and their centre were changed. Care was taken to ensure that none of the exam dates clash with elections," the ICAI counsel said. .The Court ultimately found merit in the ICAI's stance and declined to intervene in the matter. "This is a matter of policy. They (ICAI) are saying they exam dates are not on election date. 4 lakh 36,000 students have enrolled, 591 centres in 290 plus areas. This is not a case for our interference," CJI Chandrachud said. .Advocate Divyansh Tiwari also appeared for the petitioners (students).