CLAT 2020 exam, an entrance test for the 22 National Law Universities for admissions to LLB, LLB 5YEAR integrated and LLM, courses is scheduled to start at 2 PM today. A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said, “In fact of the present case, we are of the view that the student Deepansh Tripathi should be permitted to take his CLAT examination on September 28, 2020 in a separate isolation room to be provided by his Centre Superintendent.”
The bench also comprising Justices R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah said that the student shall ensure that a download copy of this order should be presented before his Centre Superintendent as early as possible by any other non-symptomatic person.
“On such order being produced, the Centre Superintendent shall provide a separate room for applicant to appear in the examination. Applicant shall enter into the center after other candidates take entry and shall first leave the examination center,” it said. The top court said the Centre Superintendent may also request the Chief Medical officer of the District or Superintendent, Government Hospital to provide medical staff to render necessary assistance.
The student has contended that although as per the admit card issued to him, COVID 19 symptomatic candidates will be allocated to isolated room, instructions have been issued by Consortium of NLUs that candidates who have been tested positive and are under medical surveillance or in isolation will not be permitted to take the CLAT 2020 examination. The bench recorded that the student has already received admit card showing his center as “ION Digital Zone IDZ Chitoura Road, Bhartiya Vidya Mandir Shiksha Samiti” at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.
In his intervention application filed by the student, he said that he is aspiring to clear the CLAT exam and is holding a volid admit card for the CLAT Exam. “however he is presently in isolation due to his being suspected COVID Positive. He is otherwise fine and is fully ready and prepared to give the CLAT 2020 examination scheduled to take place on September 28”, he has said in his application
On September 21, the top court had directed that for conduct of CLAT2020 examination on September 28, taking all precautions and care for health of the students after following the Standard Operating Procedures of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Human Resources Development. The plea of Tripathi had sought clarification of the September 21 judgment on CLAT and order to the consortium with regard to denial to appear in entrance examination to aspirants suffering from Covid 19 by not providing isolations rooms at the exam centers.
As per the latest order of the CLAT Consortium, the candidates who have positive for COVID 19 and are under surveillance will not be permitted to take the CLAT 2020 examination scheduled to be held on 28 September 2020.