Yugal Jain, a visually challenged CLAT aspirant from Jaipur had written to the CLAT help-desk seeking permission to bring his own scribe to write the exam or permission for using a computer to read and write..Yugal in his email stated, “Often at times, it so happens that externally provided scribes do not work well with the disabled candidate. This might have a detrimental effect on writing an exam like CLAT in which the time management is the key factor. There should be good understanding between candidate and his scribe.”.The CLAT authorities informed Yugal that a disabled student will get 30 minutes extra to write his exam and the centre will arrange for the scribe. Yugal approached P-PIL (Promoting Public Interest Lawyering), an NGO, which aims to further the cause of public interest through the instrumentality of law. P-PIL directly took up the matter with the CLAT Authorities..The P-PIL team consisting of its Founder Director Prof. Shamnad Basheer, Sai Vinod, Vatsala Sahay, Sahana Manjesh and Akshay Sharma prepared a Research Note on Scribes for the Visually Impaired titled ‘Fostering Effective Access for the Disabled’. The Note along with a letter from Prof. Basheer was sent to Justice N. N. Mathur, Vice-Chancellor of NLU-J (which is organising CLAT 2012) and Prof. Ranbir Singh, Vice Chancellor of NLU-Delhi. The Note also included a draft policy for scribes in CLAT..P-PIL team in its Note laid emphasis on the decision of the Bombay High Court order dated December 18, 2006 in Public Interest Litigation No. 129 of 2003. The decision had laid down elaborate guidelines in relation to appointing scribes. The P-PIL Note proposed that similar guidelines be framed for CLAT as well. These include.1. The Scribe/writer should either be provided by the examining authority or be arranged by the candidate himself/herself at the discretion of the candidate..2. It is desirable that the candidate and the scribe are from the same stream..3. In case the candidate avails the services of his/her own scribe/writer, the scribe/writer should be one grade junior in academic qualification than the candidate if from the same stream. However, this condition shall not apply if the scribe/writer is from a different stream..4. No other restriction should be imposed on the selection of a scribe/writer..Speaking to Bar & Bench, Prof. Basheer said, “After we sent this petition to both NLU Jodhpur and NLU Delhi, we received oral confirmations from both the Vice Chancellors that they would adopt very progressive policies and permit visually impaired candidates to bring their own scribes. Law schools routinely teach principles of fairness and justice to their students. One therefore expects that they will now walk the talk and implement policies to effectuate justice for the disabled. They really have to take the lead here.”.Bar & Bench also spoke to Justice Mathur on the P-PIL Note submitted by Prof. Basheer. Justice Mathur said that he is in complete agreement with the demands made by Prof. Basheer. NLU-J Registrar, Ratan Lahoti has confirmed that the CLAT Core Committee shall be holding a meeting tomorrow to discuss various issues including the P-PIL Note. It is expected that the said meeting will bring some clarity on this aspect..Let’s hope NLU’s will open the doors for many aspirants like Yugal to write the CLAT effectively!.Report Prepared by P-PIL
Yugal Jain, a visually challenged CLAT aspirant from Jaipur had written to the CLAT help-desk seeking permission to bring his own scribe to write the exam or permission for using a computer to read and write..Yugal in his email stated, “Often at times, it so happens that externally provided scribes do not work well with the disabled candidate. This might have a detrimental effect on writing an exam like CLAT in which the time management is the key factor. There should be good understanding between candidate and his scribe.”.The CLAT authorities informed Yugal that a disabled student will get 30 minutes extra to write his exam and the centre will arrange for the scribe. Yugal approached P-PIL (Promoting Public Interest Lawyering), an NGO, which aims to further the cause of public interest through the instrumentality of law. P-PIL directly took up the matter with the CLAT Authorities..The P-PIL team consisting of its Founder Director Prof. Shamnad Basheer, Sai Vinod, Vatsala Sahay, Sahana Manjesh and Akshay Sharma prepared a Research Note on Scribes for the Visually Impaired titled ‘Fostering Effective Access for the Disabled’. The Note along with a letter from Prof. Basheer was sent to Justice N. N. Mathur, Vice-Chancellor of NLU-J (which is organising CLAT 2012) and Prof. Ranbir Singh, Vice Chancellor of NLU-Delhi. The Note also included a draft policy for scribes in CLAT..P-PIL team in its Note laid emphasis on the decision of the Bombay High Court order dated December 18, 2006 in Public Interest Litigation No. 129 of 2003. The decision had laid down elaborate guidelines in relation to appointing scribes. The P-PIL Note proposed that similar guidelines be framed for CLAT as well. These include.1. The Scribe/writer should either be provided by the examining authority or be arranged by the candidate himself/herself at the discretion of the candidate..2. It is desirable that the candidate and the scribe are from the same stream..3. In case the candidate avails the services of his/her own scribe/writer, the scribe/writer should be one grade junior in academic qualification than the candidate if from the same stream. However, this condition shall not apply if the scribe/writer is from a different stream..4. No other restriction should be imposed on the selection of a scribe/writer..Speaking to Bar & Bench, Prof. Basheer said, “After we sent this petition to both NLU Jodhpur and NLU Delhi, we received oral confirmations from both the Vice Chancellors that they would adopt very progressive policies and permit visually impaired candidates to bring their own scribes. Law schools routinely teach principles of fairness and justice to their students. One therefore expects that they will now walk the talk and implement policies to effectuate justice for the disabled. They really have to take the lead here.”.Bar & Bench also spoke to Justice Mathur on the P-PIL Note submitted by Prof. Basheer. Justice Mathur said that he is in complete agreement with the demands made by Prof. Basheer. NLU-J Registrar, Ratan Lahoti has confirmed that the CLAT Core Committee shall be holding a meeting tomorrow to discuss various issues including the P-PIL Note. It is expected that the said meeting will bring some clarity on this aspect..Let’s hope NLU’s will open the doors for many aspirants like Yugal to write the CLAT effectively!.Report Prepared by P-PIL