A bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, while hearing a petition challenging the provisional answer key issued for the Common Law Entrance Test (CLAT) for postgraduate admissions, advised the petitioners to approach the Delhi High Court with their grievances.
The bench, while refusing to entertain the petition, expressed concern that the Supreme Court cannot act as a court of first instance in such matters and the delay in publication of examination results due to the Supreme Court’s interference.
“We cannot be a court of first instance… we have said this on enough occasions. We have judgments where the delay in results due to OMR sheet issues has stretched to eight years. Please go to the High Court,” the Chief Justice of India said.
However, the bench said that the petitioner was given freedom to go to the High Court and stated that ‘we are not in favor of interfering in the petition… the petitioner has been given freedom to go to the High Court’. A petition filed by Anam Khan and Ayush Aggarwal raised several complaints about the conduct of the CLAT-PG 2025 exam held on December 1, 2024.
The petitioners alleged that the provisional answer key released on December 2 contained significant errors, including incorrect answers to 12 questions.
The petition also objected to the process for raising challenges in North Key, arguing that the one-day window provided for objections, which closed at 4 p.m. on December 3, was insufficient.
Further, they opposed the fee of Rs 1,000 per objection, saying it was excessive, especially when added to the Rs 4,000 examination fee.
However, the CJI overruled objections about the fee, commenting, “Rs 1,000 per objection is not a big deal. Do you know how much was spent?” The petition also demanded suspension of the counseling process for admission to postgraduate law programs in national law universities.