CLAT 2025 SC Judgement OUT! Signals Intent to Shift CLAT Result Petitions to single HC

Supreme Court has expressed its inclination to transfer to the Punjab and Haryana High Court the petitions filed in various High Courts challenging the results of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2025, held on December 1, 2024, for admissions to undergraduate and postgraduate law programs in National Law Universities.

CLAT 2025 SC Judgement OUT! Signals Intent to Shift CLAT Result Petitions to Punjab & Haryana High Court

CLAT 2025 Supreme Court Judgement is Finally out! The Supreme Court has expressed its inclination to transfer to the Punjab and Haryana High Court the petitions filed in various High Courts challenging the results of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2025, held on December 1, 2024, for admissions to undergraduate and postgraduate law programs in National Law Universities. CLAT Answer Key 2025 was released on December 7, 2024 along with CLAT Result 2025.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar issued a notice regarding transfer petitions filed by the Consortium of National Law Universities, seeking to consolidate and transfer all pending petitions to either the Supreme Court or a single High Court.

Currently, petitions challenging the CLAT 2025 results are pending in the High Courts of Delhi, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab & Haryana.

As the matter commenced, CJI Khanna noted that the bench preferred transferring the cases to a specific High Court rather than keeping them before the Supreme Court, referencing a prior instance where a similar petition was redirected to a High Court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta supported this approach, suggesting the Karnataka High Court as a potential venue.

However, CJI Khanna observed that the first petition had been filed at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He praised its efficiency: "The disposal rate at P&H High Court is very good, higher than other courts."

Counsel representing some students requested the transfer to the Delhi High Court, emphasizing that as per the CLAT 2025 Delhi High Court ruling, two CLAT-UG 2025 answers incorrect. One advocate earnestly pleaded, "We are requesting with folded hands," to which CJI Khanna replied, "Law students should not fold their hands."

The bench subsequently dictated the following order:

"The writ petitions pending in various courts should be handled by a single High Court for expedited resolution. Issue notice returnable in the week commencing February 3, 2025. Notices will be served to the counsels representing petitioners in different High Courts. The bench is inclined to transfer the matters to the Punjab and Haryana High Court."

In December 2024, the Supreme Court declined to hear a petition challenging the CLAT-PG 2025 answer keys, directing the petitioners to approach the High Court instead.

Additionally, in December 2024, a single judge of the Delhi High Court determined that two answers in the CLAT-UG 2025 exam were incorrect and ordered the Consortium to revise the results for the petitioners. When the Consortium appealed this decision, the division bench stated that it found no apparent error in the single judge’s ruling.