CLAT issues notice with respect to Upper Age Limit, to comply with High Court orders

The Convener CLAT -2015 today released a notice on its website which says, "The candidates exceeding the upper age limit as mentioned in the CLAT - 15 notification issued earlier shall also be eligible to submit their application online w.e.f. 16^th of March, 2015." The said notice has been released to comply with the orders passed by the Allahabad High Court and Rajasthan High Court in petitions by students to quash the age limit."

However, the notice also says , "The candidature of aforesaid candidates shall be subject to final decision of the appropriate court in this matter."

Speaking to Live Law, Devasheesh Pathak said that he was happy that CLAT was going to comply with the Court's order. Having not getting colleges of his choice in his last attempt, Devasheesh had decided to take CLAT this year after the Bar Council of India had dropped the age limit provisions through a notification. However, as a matter of shock and surprise, the CLAT Committee while releasing the notification for CLAT 2015 stuck with the age limit clause, as a result debarring Devasheesh and other similar placed students from taking the exam again.

Thereafter, Devasheesh and other students made several representations to both CLAT and BCI but they never got a reply. Left with no other option, the students were forced to seek justice from the judiciary. The writ petition filed before the Allahabad High Court had 21 petitioners but the respondents (BCI and 2 others) never appeared.

As a result, it was on February 26, 2015 that Justice Shashi Kant Gupta allowed the writ petition, which CLAT has now agreed to comply with.

Devasheesh also said that as far as Allahabad High Court is concerned, the issue has been finally decided whereas the same could be pending before Rajasthan High Court.

Live Law also had a chat with Mrs. Sushmita Mukherji, Counsel for the petitioners in the matter. Ms. Mukherjee informed Live Law that it was long legal battle that stated with Kanha v Bar Council of India, a petition that had two students as petitioners and was filed in February 2014. The Court in that matter had allowed the students to appear in the examination but the results of the said students were not declared and later on, the petition became infructuous. However, Ms. Mukherjee is happy that CLAT has decided to follow the High Court's order and said, "It's a victory for us" and that "it had to be done."

You may read more of our coverage on CLAT here.

Read the notice here.