The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is an important exam for students planning to pursue B.A. LL.B. Aspirants start preparing for it at the beginning of Class XII and try to handle their Board exams and entrance exams simultaneously. However, a lot of times students are not able to clear the entrance exams due to the high difficulty level. Students attend coaching classes and some even sign up for crash courses. If one fails to clear the test, one can always try again next year. Sadly, this option will not be available to everyone anymore.
According to a notification issued by the Madurai High Court and the BAR Council of India in September 2016, students above the age of 20 are now barred from appearing for the entrance exam.
This has created a lot of problems for students. “Many students took a gap year this year so that they could prepare better. We had cleared it this time but we wanted a better college and decided to wait for one more year. However, after this notification, we have no idea what to do next,” said Harshit Pareek, who was one of the first ones to file a case in Allahabad Court on November 11, 2016.
An age limit was imposed in 2008, which was taken back after the Prabakaran Committee told the court that the age bar is a violation of one’s fundamental right. However, due to further objections, the age limit was rolled back.
Students are in shock. “In a country of a high youth population, how can the age limit be set at 20? This is totally unjustified,” said Harshit.
Additional pressure
A lot of students feel that this decision has put more pressure on them and has led to a decline in their will to study. “Revival of age limit has put me in a situation of atrophy. I am a drop-year student and have keen interest in litigation. I will be turning 21 in March. The notification came in middle of an academic session and following it in the current session has completely upset my plans,” said Prachi Ojha, a 20-year-old student from Jharkhand.
Some students who dropped a year to apply to a better college, or left some other field to pursue their dream of becoming a lawyer, now feel lost. “Relying on the fact that the CLAT did not have an age limit, I decided to drop a year and prepare for CLAT 2017 to get into an NLU. But the sudden imposition of age restriction has landed me in a state of panic and hopelessness.
It has severely affected the pace of preparation,” said Chitra Kumari Sharma, a 21-year-old student from Kolkata. The rule was brought back with the objective that the quality of lawyers would be controlled and only those students would pursue law who are serious and focused. However, students feel that the reasons are not justified. “If they want to control the quality, why are they allowing SC/ST candidates to appear till 22?” asked Harshit. For a lot of students, the situation is difficult and overwhelming as they will not be able to appear for the exam due to a gap of merely a few days or months. “This is affecting my career and dreams. I left a good college to get admission in an NLU college relying on the fact that there is no age limit,” said Shivrit Dhadwal, a 19-year-old student from Punjab.
