Keywords: CLAT, NLUs, PIL, Hindi
The Delhi High Court has questioned the Consortium of NLUs on why they are not allowed to hold a Common Law Admission Test in Hindi when admission tests for engineering and medical institutes take place in hindi[1].
During a hearing on a plea requesting the inclusion of Hindi and other regional languages in the conduct of CLAT (Common Law Admission Test), a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad raised the question to the counsel representing the National Law Universities (NLUs).
A committee has been appointed to examine the matter and a decision on this issue will be taken at its meeting, it was stated by the lawyer appearing for NLUs. In that regard, the Court of Justice had already communicated its opinion. However, the Consortium of NLUs was informed on May 19 that its response had not yet been submitted. The bench thus gave the consortium four weeks to submit its reply. The present case is to be taken up on July 7[2].
Sudhanshu Pathak, a student from Delhi University, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) asserting that the exclusive use of English for the CLAT exam results in significant injustice for students from non-English educational backgrounds. The petitioner referred to a survey conducted by the Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to legal education (IDIA) Trust as supporting evidence for their argument.
The petitioner was represented by Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta, along with advocates Akash Vajpai and Sakshi Raghav. CJI DY Chandrachud recently highlighted the presence of multiple obstacles in accessing legal education and pursuing a career in law. He specifically pointed out that the CLAT exam serves as a prime example of such a barrier, as it favors students from affluent English medium schools who possess the necessary resources and support to succeed[3].
Written by- Aditya a student of ILSR, GLA University, Mathura, 2nd Semester, an intern under Legal Vidhiya
[1] BAR AND BENCH, https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/if-mbbs-iit-entrance-exams-held-hindi-why-not-clat-delhi-high-court-asks-nlus (last visited on 23rd May, 2023).
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