New Delhi: The Supreme Court (SC) has cancelled National Law School of India University (NLSIU) Bengaluru’s notification for a separate entrance exam, the National Law Aptitude Test-2020 held on Sept. 12, for admission to its five-year integrated BA LLB (Hons) programme.

While cancelling the NLAT-2020 entrance exam yesterday, the Court also directed that admissions in all 22 National Law Universities (NLUs) be conducted in accordance with Common Law Admission Test (CLAT)-2020) which is scheduled to be held on Sept. 28.

A Bench, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, passed the order on a plea challenging NLAT-2020 filed by former NLSIU Vice-Chancellor Professor R. Venkata Rao and the parent of an aspirant.

The Bench, also comprising Justices R.S. Reddy and M.R. Shah, said all NLUs should start their academic session by mid October. The CLAT is a centralised national-level entrance test for admissions to 22 NLUs in India. Bengaluru’s NLSIU is one of them.

On Sept. 17, the Top Court reserved its order on the plea seeking quashing of the NLAT-2020 notification, read with the Sept. 4 press release on NLSIU admissions 2020-21. NLSIU Bengaluru defended its decision in the Top Court to hold a separate entrance examination instead of CLAT.

On Sept. 11, the Top Court gave NLSIU Bengaluru its go ahead to hold a separate exam on Sept. 12 but restrained it from announcing the results and admitting any student till the pendency of the plea.

The Bench, which said it is an important matter which needs to be decided, had issued notice to the University and its VC Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy and sought their responses on the plea. The plea termed holding of a separate examination as “manifestly arbitrary and illegal.”

NLSIU’s action had created unprecedented uncertainty and has imposed an onerous burden and obligations upon thousands of aspirants, who are now uncertain about the future course of action, the plea claimed.

The impugned notification provides that NLSIU shall not accept the scores of CLAT 2020 for admission to academic year 2020-21 and an examination called NLAT be conducted online.