The Apex Court while giving its final verdict on the CA exams 2021, directed the Institute of chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to come up with an inclusive opt-out option for students suffering from Covid-19.
The petitions were filed by Satya Narain Perumal, Anubha Shrivastava Sahai and third by a group of CA aspirants demanding moderation in the Standard Operation Procedure issued for the exams among other reliefs. The petitions also demanded postponement of exams, extra chance and opt out options for students amid the pandemic.
The Court also clarified that apart from the opt-out option all the points mentioned in the SOP will remain unchanged.
A three-judge bench of Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice Dinersh Maheshwari and Justice Anuradha Bose held that RT-PCR alone cannot determine the inability of candidates. Nearly 3.74 lakh students will be appearing for the July cycle of examinations. The bench said that sometimes the after effects of COVID-19 are so “horrible” that the affected persons are unable to recover for the next two to three months.
The court held that the RT-PCR report will not be a compulsory document and a certificate by a medical practitioner will be deemed valid for opting out. Such candidates will be permitted to repeat old and new courses in 2021 subject to conducive situations.
The court directed ICAI to follow strict Covid-19 protocols for conducting the exams. In case of a last-minute change of examination centres due to its inclusion in the containment zone, the candidates will be allowed to opt out of the exam. In such a case, attempts will not be counted and candidates can appear in the November exam.
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