CLAT 2026 Revised Merit List: Allahabad High Court Hearing New Date (Out)

Consortium of NLUs vs. Avneesh Gupta: Case Overview

IAs Filed by Consortium

The Consortium has filed several Interlocutory Applications (IAs) to address the urgency. Below is the breakdown of the filings and the history of the case in court:

• IA/1/2026 (Exemption): Filed on February 5, 2026, to exempt the Consortium from certain procedural filings.

• IA/2/2026 (Stay Application): This is the most vital application, filed on February 05, 2026. The Consortium is requesting that the court stay the Single Bench order, which would enable them to continue the CLAT admission process without revising the current merit list.

• IA/3/2026 (Listing Application): Filed on February 13, 2026, to request an earlier hearing date given the deadline for NLU admissions.

Consortium Listing History Highlights

The procedural journey of this appeal began on February 11, 2026. The matter first appeared before the Hon’ble Chief Justice’s bench. However, it was redirected to an appropriate Division Bench for a detailed hearing of the revised merit list. On February 13, 2026, the case was listed in Court 3 as Serial No. 192. During this session, the case was officially "Tied Up," meaning it is now permanently assigned to this specific bench to ensure continuity. However, the matter was "Passed Over" (PO) due to a lack of judicial time on that day. As of February 19, 2026, the court updated the Fresh List, confirming a new hearing date of February 20, 2026, where the case is listed in Court No. 3 at Serial No. 45 as a "PO Fresh" matter.

The Grounds of Special Appeal

The dispute originated from a single-bench ruling in the case of Avneesh Gupta vs. Consortium of NLUs. The judge observed a discrepancy in the evaluation of Question 9 (Logical Reasoning). While an Expert Committee suggested that two options were correct, the Oversight Committee rejected this. The court ruled that the Oversight Committee's decision was arbitrary and ordered a revised merit list.

The Consortium challenged the initial ruling through a Special Appeal (SPLA). It argues that courts should not play the role of an examiner in academic matters. Furthermore, the Consortium mentions that revising the CLAT 2026 merit list now would cause logistical chaos and affect thousands of students who have already locked their seats in Round 1 and Round 2.