Safiya Malik

The Supreme Court has ordered the transfer of all petitions challenging the results of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2025, currently pending in multiple High Courts, to the Delhi High Court. The directive aims to ensure uniformity in judicial determinations and prevent contradictory verdicts on the same issue. The court instructed that all case records be transferred within seven days and scheduled the matter for hearing before the Delhi High Court on March 3, 2025.

The litigation stems from multiple petitions challenging the results of CLAT 2025, conducted in December 2024 for admissions to undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) law courses in National Law Universities (NLUs). The petitions are pending before the High Courts of Delhi, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab & Haryana.

The Supreme Court's decision came in response to a transfer petition filed by the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLU Consortium), which sought to consolidate all cases in a single High Court to prevent conflicting judgments. Initially, the Supreme Court had considered transferring the matters to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, as the first petition was filed there. However, it ultimately decided to centralize the litigation in the Delhi High Court.

Previously, on December 20, 2024, the Delhi High Court’s single-judge bench had found that two answers in the CLAT UG 2025 exam were incorrect. The court directed the NLU Consortium to revise the results of the affected candidates accordingly. The Consortium appealed this ruling before a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court, which observed that “prima facie, there was no error in the single-judge’s decision.”

In its plea before the Supreme Court, the NLU Consortium argued that allowing multiple High Courts to adjudicate the same issue could result in inconsistent legal findings. Accepting this contention, the Supreme Court issued an omnibus order stating: "If any other case related to CLAT UG or PG results is pending before any other High Court, the respondent/Consortium of Universities may file a copy of this order before the concerned High Court for transferring the case to the Delhi High Court."

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar, and Justice K.V. Viswanathan examined the procedural concerns arising from multiple, parallel litigations. The court noted that transferring all CLAT-related matters to one forum would ensure efficiency and consistency in judicial outcomes.

The bench directed that the transfer of case records from various High Courts to the Delhi High Court be completed within seven days. The court recorded: "Relating to CLAT PG and UG matters, all pending cases shall be transferred to the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court where LPA 1250/2024 and LPA 1251/2024 are currently listed. The records must be transferred expeditiously within seven days."

The Supreme Court also acknowledged the controversy surrounding the CLAT PG 2025 results, which have been challenged before the Madhya Pradesh and Bombay High Courts over alleged errors in the answer key. The order extended to all pending litigation, including those related to the CLAT PG examination.

1. Transfer of Cases: All petitions related to CLAT 2025 results pending before different High Courts shall be transferred to the Delhi High Court.

2. Timeframe for Transfer: Registrars of each concerned High Court must send case records to the Delhi High Court within seven days.

3. Omnibus Transfer Directive: Any additional pending cases concerning CLAT results in other High Courts may also be transferred to the Delhi High Court upon submission of the Supreme Court’s order.

4. Scheduled Hearing: The Delhi High Court shall list the matter for hearing on March 3, 2025.

Case Title: Consortium of National Law Universities v. Master Aditya Singh (Minor)
Case Number: TP(C) 000046 - 000054 / 2025
Bench: Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar, Justice K.V. Viswanathan

[Order awaited]