Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 7: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by a group of law aspirants from SC, OBC and EWS categories seeking an independent and time-bound probe into allegations of a leak of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2026 question paper, citing delay in approaching the court.

A Bench comprising Justice P S Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe observed that the alleged leak was said to have taken place on December 6, but the petition was filed only on December 16. “You say it was leaked on December 6. Why did you wait till December 16 to file the petition? Before the declaration of results, we would have appreciated it,” the Bench remarked.

CLAT 2026 was conducted on December 7, 2025, between 2 pm and 4 pm across 156 examination centres in 25 states and four Union Territories. The apex court noted that by the time the matter came up for hearing, the examination process had already been completed.

In their plea, the aspirants alleged that videos, images and other digital content containing the question paper and answers were circulated on WhatsApp, Telegram and other social media platforms while the examination was still in progress, resulting in unfair advantage to some candidates and compromising the sanctity of the test.

The petitioners had sought directions for a fresh CLAT examination under the supervision of an independent committee if the allegations were found to be true. However, the court found no merit in the plea and rejected it, also questioning the delay in filing the petition.

Advocate Malvika Kapila, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the alleged leak had irreparably affected the level playing field and that proceeding with counselling and seat allotment, scheduled to begin on January 7, would cause irreversible harm to deserving candidates. Despite her submissions, the Bench remained unconvinced and declined to interfere, dismissing the plea.