Contentious Clause: NHAI's CLAT-PG Recruitment Policy Faces Legal Challenge

A Delhi High Court petition challenges the NHAI's use of CLAT-PG scores for lawyer recruitment. Filed by lawyer Shannu Bahgel, the plea argues the CLAT-PG is for academic purposes, not public employment, and claims the policy unfairly limits opportunities to those who took the exam from 2022 onwards.

The Delhi High Court is set to examine a legal petition challenging the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for using scores from the Common Law Admission Test Post Graduate (CLAT-PG) as a criterion for recruiting lawyers.

A bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela has temporarily allowed more time for the NHAI's legal counsel to collect directives on the matter.

Filed by practicing lawyer Shannu Bahgel, the petition claims that CLAT-PG scores are intended only for academic merit assessment, not as a recruitment basis for public sector roles, labeling the NHAI's August 11 notification as arbitrary and exclusionary to prior graduates and current advocates.

(With inputs from agencies.)