CA Exams: SC allows opt-out option to candidates

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 30

The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that students who are to appear for the upcoming CA Exams in July would be entitled to opt out if they or their family members have suffered from Covid-19 recently.

A Bench led by Justice AM Khanwilkar said the candidate must get a certificate from a medical practitioner that the candidate was unable to prepare for the examination due to Covid-19.

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 petitioners had asked for an opt-out option for candidates, postponement of the exam and increase in number of centres this year.

It said the candidate need not produce an RT-PCR report if a medical certificate by a registered medical practitioner for himself/herself or a family member/s was produced along with the opting-out request.

The top court—which had on Tuesday made it clear that it will not postpone the Chartered Accountant (CA) Examinations 2021 scheduled to commence next month—said candidates in containment zones would also be entitled to exercise the opt-out option and they can appear in the examinations in November.

It said if a candidate contracts Covid-19 during the examinations and he/she is unable to appear in the remaining papers, such a candidate would be allowed to opt out. It will not be treated as an attempt, the Bench said, adding the candidate can appear in November for all the papers.

The Bench rejected ICAI counsel’s suggestion that a candidate will not be allowed to opt out if a change of centre was within the same city and clarified that it shall not be treated as an attempt.

It asked ICAI to ensure strict adherence to Covid-19 guidelines and SOP issued by the competent authority, including the National Disaster Management Authority.