Supreme Court Allows Scribe For 100 Percent Blind Law Graduate To Attend CLAT-PG Exam

The Supreme Court on November 25 allowed a 100 percent blind law student to avail the assistance of a scribe, as appointed by the Consortium of the National Law Universities, to appear for the Common Law Entrance Test (CLAT)- Postgraduate exam 2024-25 scheduled on December 1.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan heard a writ petition filed by three petitioners advocating for necessary accommodation in legal examinations, including the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) and CLAT.

Petitioner no.1 is a 90 percent low-vision disabled law graduate from NALSAR University of Law, who requested accommodation from the Bar Council of India (Respondent no. 2) to appear for the AIBE-XIX examination to use a computer during the exam.

Petitioner no. 2 is a 100 percent blind law student at Government Law School, Mumbai, who requested that the CLAT conducting body allow the use of computer and clarify the scribe eligibility criteria for students with visual disabilities. Petitioner no. 3 is a 100 percent blind law graduate from Auro University, Surat, who has similarly been requesting for access to soft copies of Bare Acts and the use of a computer for the AIBE-XIX exam.

On November 25, the Court heard the plea of petitioner no. 2. The Counsel for Respondent no. 3 (Consortium of the National Law Universities) at the outset submitted that for Petitioner no. 2, a scribe cannot be from streams like Law and Humanities because certain subjects like contracts are common and therefore, a conflict of interest will take place.

On this, a bench directed that Respondent no. 3 allow the petitioner to avail the assistance of a scribe as a matter of interim relief ,provided that the scribe must be an undergraduate and must not be from a law or humanities academic background. This comes after the Court on November 22 was informed by Respondent no. 3 that the last date for electing the scribe shall be extended to November 25, till 5 pm for Petitioner no. 2.

As per the petition, the Respondents have failed to adhere to the Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016, and other applicable government guidelines, which mandate that persons with disabilities be given the option to choose the mode of examination, including the use of computers, large print, or Braille. They also highlight the lack of clarity and guidelines regarding the eligibility of scribes, the accessibility of examination centres, and the failure to sensitize invigilators to the specific needs of persons with disabilities.

Advocate Rahul Bajaj, who also appeared for the petitioners, raised the issue regarding lack of access to computers, and soft copies of Bare Acts for AIBE-XIX. Since the exam is scheduled for December 22, he requested a short date on which this aspect could be addressed.

The Court will now hear on the issue of AIBE on December 5.

Case Details: YASH DODANI AND ORS. v UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.., W.P.(C) No. 785/2024

Appearances: Advocate Rahul Bajaj, AOR Sanchita Ain, Taha Bin Tasneem, and Habib.