The Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea seeking the postponement of the Chartered Accountant exams (CA exam) held by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). This hearing took place on Monday as several students had sought for the exams scheduled to be pushed to another date due to the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
The CA exams will be held from May 2 till May 17. Students had filed an appeal, seeking to reschedule exams for May 8 and May 14 since elections are going to be held in some States on May 7 and May 13, 2024.
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According to Bar and Bench report, the Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud held that altering the exam dates would disrupt the extensive arrangements already in place for the conduct of the exams and that it could result in grave injustice for some students.
“Scheduling of exams pertains to policy decisions. But weighing the importance of right to vote we have examined the proposition of candidates who shall be appearing for exams and would also need to vote. 591 centres are there and no exams on polling dates. At this stage when 4 lakh plus students have enrolled any relief at this stage would result in grave prejudice,” the court was quoted by Bar and Bench as saying.
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The court further noted that any order to provide an option to “opt-out” of some of the exams “could adversely affect students who are planning to clear the exams in a single attempt”.
The court order read: “We find force in ICAI’s submissions that opt out of options would prejudice those students who take all papers in a single attempt. COVID arrangements stand on a completely different footing as it was a public health crisis. Thus we shall not intervene. Dismissed”.
“This is a matter of policy. They (ICAI) are saying they exam dates are not on election date. 4 lakh 36,000 students have enrolled, 591 centres in 290 plus areas. This is not a case for our interference,” CJI Chandrachud reportedly said.
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Published: 29 Apr 2024, 02:43 PM IST