Rajasthan HC (temporarily) does away with CLAT age-restriction; RMLNLU to reply by March 12 to PIL filed by NLSIU students

Two months before the Common Law Admission Test is to be held, the Rajasthan High Court has granted an interim stay on the prescribed age limit. The High Court has passed an interim order directing RMLNLU, the Organizing University of CLAT 2015, to accept applications from candidates who have crossed the age limit..The eligibility criteria for this year’s exam, posted on the CLAT website, state that a candidate should be below 20 years of age as on 1st July, 2015 and 22 years in case of SC/ST and Persons with Disability candidates..Challenging these rules were Kshitij Sharma and Abhishek Rao, two first-year students of NLSIU Bangalore. The two argued their petition in person before the Jaipur Bench of the Rajasthan High Court..The origins of the age limit rule can be traced to Clause 28 of Schedule III of the Bar Council of India’s Legal Education Rules, 2008. In 2013, the Bar Council of India withrew this clause after it was called into question by a Punjab & Haryana High Court judgement..Senior Advocate R N Mathur, appearing for the respondents, made a preliminary objection that the petitioners, who are already pursuing studies in NLSIU Bangalore, do not have any cause of action personal to them to file the writ petition. Defending the age limit rule, he also submitted that a student ordinarily passes the 10+2 examination at the age of 17. With three chances permitted in CLAT, he/she gets sufficient opportunity to appear in the CLAT up to the age of 20 years..The petitioners stated that none of the sixteen Universities, participating for CLAT, have any prescribed the maximum age in their founding statutes. They also submitted that not all students appearing for CLAT are 17 years old. In fact, a large number of students living in rural and semi-urban areas suffer from various disadvantages and other students may suffer from illness, as a result of which they would have crossed 20 years of age by the time they finish their 10+2..The Bench, comprising Justices Sunil Ambwani and Justice Prakash Gupta held,.“…no public purpose will be served, in allowing the students, who have crossed the age of 20 years, to file writ petitions individually in the High Court all over the country. It is thus, in larger public interest, to entertain and hear the writ petition for the benefit of all such students.”.The Court also described the rule as an “invidious classification” by dividing the class of students based on age. Failing to see the rationale for introducing such a rule, it was held,. “…we should grant interim order, directing the Organizing University namely, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, c-Core Committee of Common Law Admission Test, Lucknow, not to reject the applications of the students/applicants to the Common Law Admission Test, 2015, on the ground that they have crossed the age of 20 years…”.The counsel for the respondent has prayed for time up to 12th March to file a reply, and to fix a date before 31st March for final hearing of the matter..The court concluded,.“The Organizing Universities may sit together, review their decision in the light of the observations made by us in this interim order. As and when such decision is taken, the Organizing University is given a liberty to approach the Court or fixing a date for hearing.”