The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2018 results scheduled for 31 May are on time but its convenor Nuals Kochi’s grievance redressal committee is behind schedule and tried bargaining before the Supreme Court today for lessening its load of candidate grievances against the conduct of the exam.

The Supreme Court has given the committee time until 6 June to individually look into the, now almost, 6,000 representations from CLAT 2018 candidates complaining of glitches and errors in the exam. The number has risen from the earlier 251 total representations that Nuals had received until 23 May.

The committee has so far examined 160 representations, it submitted to the court in a sealed cover report today.

The deadline provided by CLAT 2018 to submit grievances against the exam to the convenor was until 15 May but the Supreme Court had extended this deadline to 7pm on 27 May.

Senior advocate V Giri requested the court to re-consider the deadline extension given to the candidates, and only have the committee look into the 251 representations submitted earlier. He also said that the representations not yet examined were mostly repetitive.

The court was hearing two writs against the CLAT 2018, clubbed together today. While until the last date there was only one challenge with six petitioners before it, advocate on record Zoheb Hossain acted today on another writ brought by 29 CLAT candidates from various exam centres in six states, asking for a re-conduct of CLAT 2018.

Hossain argued in court that looking into grievances of individual candidates will not help as the entire exam this year and its process has been tainted, resulting in unidentified beneficiaries of a corrupt process.

Hossain commented to us: “I am relying on [Tanvi Sarwal v. CBSE and Ors., [2015] 6 SCC 573, wherein the results of the All India Pre-Medical and Pre-Dental Entrance Test, 2015] were irreversibly cancelled because the paper was leaked etc, but the court said that it is not just those 144 candidates (who complained, who are affected).”

“My whole point is that there were centres where invigilators were not present, mass cheating was happening. centres where CCTV cameras were wrapped in some wire and kept or were facing the wall and the general instructions of CLAT say you have to have CCTV. I was saying you don’t have to believe me let the committeee examine the CCTV footage. These are not isolated incidents. Candidates from disparate places who do not know each other are corroborating the stories without knowing each other,” he added.

Next hearing in the case is on 6 June.

Read writ copy