Won’t postpone CA exams, says SC; to pass orders on granting opt out option on Wednesday
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 29
The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it clear that it will not postpone the Chartered Accountant (CA) Examinations 2021 scheduled to commence next month even as it agreed to consider petitions seeking an opt-out option for students unable to appear for the exam due to Covid-19 restrictions.
A Bench led by Justice AM Khanwilkar agreed to consider the opt-out option for students after the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) submitted that students appearing for the examinations will be given another opportunity if they faced difficulties due to Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions imposed due to lockdown.
Originally scheduled to be conducted by the ICAI in May, the CA exams were postponed due to the Covid19 pandemic and have been rescheduled to be held between July 5 and July 20 this year.
The top court asked ICAI to come up with a policy where a competent authority can issue a certificate explaining why a Covid19 positive student can’t appear for the CA exams and posted the matter for tomorrow to adjudicate on granting the opt-out option.
The petitioners have asked for an opt-out option for candidates, postponement of the exam, and an increase in the number of centres this year.
ICAI counsel Ramji Srinivasan told the Bench, “We had given an opt-out option to students who were down with Covid-19. ICAI says the Chief Medical Officer can issue a certificate for the students now”.
He said, “Whoever faces difficulty will be given another chance. These students had 7 years to appear for the old syllabus exam…we will give the benefit but limited to those who are directly or indirectly affected by Covid. Results will be declared as soon as possible.”
On behalf of petitioners, senior counsel Meenakshi Arora said it was difficult for a student unable to appear in the exam to obtain an RT-PCR positive test report.
“Candidates have to travel from all across the country to appear for exams. These students who live in containment zones may not be able to take the RT-PCR tests. The ICAI has not looked into problems being faced by students,” she said, adding the upcoming July CA exams were the last opportunity to appear as per the old syllabus.
