CA Exams: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) told the Supreme Court on Thursday that candidates who dropped out of the CA exams in July 2021 due to COVID-19-related difficulties will not lose any opportunity.
The apex court, hearing a petition asking the ICAI to conduct a back-up exam for opt-out candidates, directed the applicants to make a representation to the institute on this issue.
The ICAI’s representative told the bench led by Justice A M Khanwilkar that a decision on the representation would be made within 2 weeks.
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The institute’s senior advocate, Ramji Srinivasan, assured the court that there would be no loss of opportunity to candidates who had opted-out from the July exam as per the Supreme Court order.
“In July itself, we had said those candidates who have opted-out pursuant to your lordships’ leave, will have their back up in November 2021 along with the main cycle. It will not be treated as an attempt and they will not lose any benefits. They will get the benefit of the same old syllabus,” Srinivasan told the bench, which also comprised Justices Hrishikesh Roy and C T Ravikumar.
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According to the Supreme Court order on June 30, a candidate has the right to opt out of the exam if he or she or a family member has recently suffered COVID-19 and the fact has been certified by a certified medical practitioner. That will not be considered an attempt at the CA exam as such, and the applicant will be allowed to sit for the back-up CA exam, which will be held for both the old and new syllabuses, depending on the circumstances at the time, the court said. During the hearing, advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the applicants referred to the June 30 order about back-up exams, stating that those who had opted-out would basically lose one attempt.
“They (ICAI) should be directed to hold a back up examination instead of saying that you appear in the regular exam cycle,” Bhushan said, adding that from next year the syllabus will be new.
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“Let me assuage the apprehensions of my friend. There will be no loss of opportunity to people who had opted-out,” Srinivasan said.
He stated that logistical problems prevented the institute from holding a back-up exam last year, and also that the institute needs around five to six months to prepare for the exam.
The bench told Srinivasan that these candidates could sit for the November exam, but asked whether another exam under the old syllabus could be held. No candidate will be denied an opportunity, Srinivasan promised the bench. For the time being, the bench stated that it is not intervening with the examination procedure, and that the ICAI can make an appropriate decision on the representations presented by the applicants.
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“You make representation. The institute is very open to all suggestions,” the bench told Bhushan. Bhushan proposed that the institute should consider conducting a back-up exam, even if it happens after November.
The panel stated that it will not force them to take a back-up exam because the ICAI has dropped the idea due to its previous experience.
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“We don’t wish to continue this petition in view of the stand taken by the institute that all aspects brought to the notice of the institute will be taken into account and appropriate decision which is in the best interest of the candidates will be taken, provided the same is consistent with the policy and extant rules,” the bench said in its order.
The applicants were given permission to submit representations to the ICAI by the bench.
The Supreme Court clarified on June 30 that if a candidate submits a medical certificate given by certified medical practitioners for his family members along with a request to opt out of the July examination, the RT-PCR test is not required.
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