IPU CET Law: Delhi HC restricts GGSIPU from accepting CLAT scores for LLB admissions

NEW DELHI, APRIL 8: The Delhi High Court passing an interim order has restricted the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) from accepting CLAT 2019 scores for admissions to its undergraduate law programmes for the year 2019-20. The Delhi HC has also directed GGSIPU to reflect this order on its website, at the earliest.

The Delhi HC order, however, had permitted the GGSIP University to accept the scores of other national entrance tests for the respective courses.

The GGSIPU through a circular had announced that from the academic year 2019-20, the admissions to law programmes on offer at the university will be carried on the basis of CLAT UG scores.

The High Court in this matter found that this circular was self-contradictory to the Delhi Professional Colleges or Institutions (Prohibitions of Capitation Fee, Regulation of Admission, Fixation of Non-Exploitative Fee and Other Measures to Ensure Equity and Excellence) Act, 2007.

Citing this Act, it was argued that a Common Entrance Test (CET) was required to be conducted by ‘designated agency’ and that there was no provision to which accepting scores of another agency was even in consideration to admit students for the law courses in the university.

Therefore, the GGSIPU was required to conduct a CET of its own to offer admissions to the law programmes running in the different affiliated institution of the university.

Meanwhile, GGSIPU was to enter a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Consortium of National Law Universities which conducts the CLAT paper, so that they can accept CLAT scores for the law admission process.

Court Observation and Order

The Delhi High Court observed that the 2007 Act does not require the institution which is affecting admissions through a CET to itself be the designated agency which conducts the said test.

The court, therefore, held the following order –

“The 2007 Act does not, anywhere, provide for adoption, by one institution, of the score in the examination, conducted by another institution, even if the latter institutions were to be conferred “designated agency” status. The sequitur, of conferment, on such latter institution, of the status of a “designated agency”, would be that admissions to the institution could be made on the basis of examinations conducted by such designated agency. It would not clothe the institution with the authority to adopt scores in the examination conducted by such designated agency, where the agency was not actually designated, for that year, to conduct examinations, for admissions to the institution in question.”

The Delhi HC thus concluded that the complete exercise of accepting CLAT scores, as a basis for affecting admissions to law programmes offered in the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University was completely contrary to the provisions of the 2007 Act even as it rejected Guru Gobind Singh IPU’s submission that it was too late in the day for the GGSIPU to conduct a CET for admissions into the LLB course.