CLAT 2024 in Regional Languages Not Feasible: NLUs to Delhi HC

CLAT 2024: The Consortium of National Law Universities has informed the Delhi High Court that CLAT 2024 Preparation are in an advanced stage, and any court order mandating the introduction of additional language options this year without prior discussions will result in significant administrative and operational issues. The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is conducted exclusively in English.

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The exam for the 2024 academic year is scheduled for December. The authorities have formed an expert committee of vice-chancellors from five-member National Law Universities (NLUs) to examine the feasibility of offering the exam in additional languages. After reviewing stakeholder viewpoints and potential constraints, the committee will prepare a comprehensive roadmap. This submission was made in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that also sought the conduct of CLAT 2024 in regional languages. The court directed the expert committee to make a strong decision during their next meeting in August. Furthermore, the matter is listed for hearing on Sep 1, 2023.

The petitioner, a law student from Delhi University named Sudhanshu Pathak, argued in the PIL that the CLAT 2024 (UG) examination creates discrimination and does not provide a level playing field for candidates whose educational backgrounds are based on regional languages. In its response, the consortium stated that the expert committee's report would enable them to make suitable preparations for conducting the exam in additional languages in the future.

The petitioner highlighted that students from non-English language backgrounds face linguistic disadvantages in a highly competitive exam as they must overcome the additional challenge of learning and mastering a new language. The plea emphasized that aspirants from English-medium schools have an advantage over their peers from schools primarily using Hindi or other regional languages. The plea argued that conducting the exam only in English is arbitrary and discriminatory, violating Articles 14 and 29 (2) of the Constitution.