BCI will consider holding CLAT in regional languages, law ministry tells Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: The Bar Council of India is considering holding Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) in languages other than English, Centre told Rajya Sabha.

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“As far as the National Law Universities are concerned, there was a request made from certain quarters that Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) examination should also be conducted in such regional languages apart from English language. The Bar Council of India being the regulatory body for legal education shall definitely consider this aspect and shall issue an advisory to Universities in this regard,” Kiren Rijiju, union minister of law and justice said in a written reply to the Parliament.

The Centre was asked whether it has plans to conduct CLAT examination in regional languages including Hindi as “due to entrance examinations being conducted in English language, the students of deprived sections who want to join judicial service, are deprived of their fundamental right to get education by creating linguistic discrimination.”

For other universities, the law minister said that “the Bar Council of India shall write to the Universities asking them to further explore the feasibility of conducting entrance examinations in respect of regional languages for the convenience of the locals of the area apart from conducting the same in English language.”

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Earlier in 2020, the BCI had formed a committee to consider the possibility of conducting the law examination in regional languages for admission to law schools in the country.