ICAI to file affidavit on plea regarding CA exams, SC to hear on June 29

New Delhi, June 26

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The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) told the Supreme Court on Friday that it would file an affidavit on the plea which has challenged its ‘opt-out’ option for CA exams, scheduled between July 29 and August 16, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Apex Court was hearing through video-conferencing a plea which has alleged that the ICAI had made an important announcement on June 15 by which it “arbitrarily decided to discriminate” between the aspirants by providing an option of ‘opt-out’ in the May cycle CA examination.

The counsel appearing for the ICAI told a Bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari that the institute had ensured that no prejudice was caused to anybody by the notification issued regarding the upcoming examination.

The plea has also sought directions for increasing the number of examination centres for around 4.67 lakh aspirants in the exams.

“Ramji Srinivasan, senior counsel, instructed by Pramod Dayal, appearing for respondent No. 1 (ICAI), seeks the liberty to place certain facts on record by way of an affidavit, which he intends to file before June 29, through e-mail,” the Bench noted in its order and posted the matter for hearing on June 29.

Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, appearing for the petitioner, told the Bench that the deadline to submit the online declaration to avail the ‘opt-out’ option was June 27.

The petitioner, president of the India Wide Parents Association, has claimed in the plea that the ICAI had stated that students, who had already submitted the online examination application for May examination cycle, would be allowed to ‘opt-out’ and carry forward their candidature to the November 2020 examination cycle.

“It is respectfully submitted that Respondent No.1 ICAI has notified that for the students who choose the opt-out option, this attempt (May 2020) will be treated as cancelled/not counted. Thus, such student will be deprived of May 2020, attempt, as compared to other groups of students, who choose the opt-in option,” the plea said while seeking quashing of the announcement made in this regard on June 15.

“The said ‘opt-out’ option discriminates between those underprivileged group of CA students/aspirants, who are living in remote areas of the country or living in the containment zones and thus are slated to lose one precious ‘examination attempt’ by choosing ‘opt-out’ option amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as compared to that privileged group of students/aspirants, who are living in big cities/green zones and thus have no problem in appearing in the said examination,” it said.

The petition has further sought an increase in the number of examination centres so as to ensure that at least one examination centre is there in every district of India.

The petition said around 4.67 lakh aspirants were scheduled to appear in the examinations at about 259 examination centres in India and five centres abroad. It has also said free transportation and accommodation should be provided to the aspirants near their respective examination centres.

It has further sought directions to the authorities to conduct mandatory free COVID-19 test of all aspirants and teachers and staffs deployed at the examination centres. PTI