The plea alleged that after CLAT 2020 was further postponed, the NLSIU stipulated that the admission procedure to undergraduate programmes was to be conducted through a newly established entrance exam - NLAT 2020. (Express Photo By Praveen Khanna/Representational image)

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) to go ahead with the entrance exam for BA LLB (Hons) programme but restrained it from declaring results, saying that the issue will be subject to the outcome of a pending petition challenging the exam.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said, “The examination for admission in pursuance of notification dated 04.09.2020 may take place but neither the result shall be declared nor any admission be made consequent thereto.”

The bench made it “clear that conducting of examination shall be subject to the outcome of the writ petition”.

Fixing the matter for hearing on September 16, the court asked NLSIU to file its reply within three days.

The bench was hearing a plea by former NLSIU vice-chancellor R Venkata Rao challenging the university’s decision to conduct a separate admission test for the programme.

In his petition, Rao termed this a “unilateral decision…taken without any application of mind, thereby completely prejudicing the students at the final hour”. He maintained that this has put the career of candidates “in jeopardy for purely whimsical reasons”.

The NLSIU had decided to conduct a separate test – National Law Aptitude Test (NLAT) – for 2020-21 academic year in view of the delay in conduct of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) for admission to national law universities. Although CLAT was originally scheduled to be held on May 10, it was rescheduled multiple times on account of Covid-19.