CA Exams 2020: CA Exams Likely to Get Cancelled Due to Spike COVID-19 Cases, ICAI Seeks Time from SC Till July 10

On Wednesday, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India informed the Supreme Court that there were operational problems in holding the CA Exams - planned to start from July 29 - on pan India level due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in several states like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

Senior Advocate Ramji Srinivasan, appearing for the ICAI, sought time to assess the ground situation and contact the exam centres, and sought adjournment of the hearing of the petition challenging the 'opt-out scheme' till July 10.

Consequently, the bench granted the adjournment, reminding the ICAI that the ground situation was not "static" but "dynamic".

The bench was hearing the petition filed by the Anubha Shrivastava Sahai challenging the "opt-out scheme", and asking for more number of centres for CA exam for the May 2020 cycle Chartered Accountants examination which are scheduled from July 29 to August 16.

On June 15, the ICAI notification said the students could avail an 'opt-out' option, according to which their attempt will be treated as cancelled, and will be carried forward to the exams scheduled in November. The deadline for the opt-out option was decided on June 30. This was called highly discriminatory and arbitrary by the petitioner.

On June 29, the Court insisted that the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) should be flexible with the 'opt-out' scheme, keeping in view the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

The bench also suggested the ICAI keep the option open for change in examination until the last week and not to freeze it, as the situation is changing continuously.

A bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari & Sanjiv Khanna had then asked the ICAI to come out with a new notification in this regard and adjourned the hearing till today, July 2.

The bench said the situation due to pandemic was not "static" and was "dynamic". So, until the last exam, the option for opt-out must be kept open.

The ICAI had told the bench that the limited window of choosing to opt-out was kept to have a sense of certainty as regards the number of students taking the exam. Senior Advocate Ramji Srinivasan, ICAI's counsel, said that 53,000 students have already opted out from taking the CA exam to be held in July-August.

"Those who have not opted out and are unable to take an exam due to any exigency, let those students have the same benefit as someone who has opted out", Justice Khanwilar suggested.

"If someone does not appear for the CA exam, treat them as opted out. As simple as that. Assume that it is COVID-19 related", the judge added.

"You have to make a provision then that if a student passes the exam in November, you have to say that it means they have passed the exam in July", the bench said.

The bench suggested these two options :

1. Opting out shall remain active till last paper.

2. Guidelines issued by MHA for the conduct of CBSE exams should be adopted.

"Don't make the taking of any CA exam difficult for students. Don't make this semester-based opting out. You (ICAI) are a professional body. Take care of your students", the bench told Senior Advocate Ramji Srinivasan, counsel for ICAI.

"Once the option of opting out is kept open till last paper, no other logistic concern would be relevant", the bench remarked.

The bench also said that the option to change the CA exam centre needs to be open till the last week before the examination date.

"The change of centre should be open for all till the end. Till the last week, you need to be flexible; you cannot be rigid", the bench said.

Srinivasan told the bench that a modified notification would be issued addressing the concerns raised by the bench.

The bench, however, was not appreciative of the petitioner's plea for free transportation facilities to exam centres.

"Do you expect a bus to go to every aspirant's residence to pick them up?", the bench asked Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, petitioner's counsel.

Filed through Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, the plea stated that said "Opt-Out" option discriminates against students. As some students who are living in remote areas in India or are currently in containment zones are forced to choose the "opt-out" option and are thus slated to lose one "one precious examination attempt" of taking the said examination.

To ensure that there is at least one Examination Centre in every district so that maximum students can appear for the exams, the plea prayed for increasing the number of Examination Centres as there are only 259 centres in India and 5 Centres overseas, whereas there are 739 districts in India.

"....it is apparent from the above that the Respondent No.1 ICAI is only conducting the Examinations described above in about 30% districts in India. Meaning thereby that the students/ aspirants living in other 70% districts of India, would be required to travel from their homes for long distances to other districts, to appear in the Examinations described above, which will put their lives in immense threat of deadly pandemic of COVID-19" - Excerpt of Plea.

This, the plea stated, would ensure that the risk of contracting the infection is minimised as students need not travel long distances to attempt the examinations.

Moreover, the petitioner prayed for free transportation and free accommodation for the students who are not close to their respective Examination Centres to protect them from "unnecessary harassment" and for "e-Admit Cards to be issued to the captioned students, as E-passes for free movement of such students in containment/ red zones during examinations".