Supreme Court Stays Delhi HC Judgment Barring NHAI From Selecting Legal Officers Based On CLAT-PG Score

The Supreme Court on Thursday (December 4) stayed the operation of a judgment of the Delhi High Court which quashed a notification issued by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to appoint law officers [Young Professional-Legal] based on CLAT-PG scores.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the interim order while issuing notice to the respondents on NHAI's Special Leave Petition filed against the High Court's judgment.

Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, for the NHAI, submitted that the law officers are appointed for a two-year contractual period. "If we invite applications, it would be in thousands. For example, in the Delhi PP post, we received five thousand applications. Interviews are still going on. So we go by a rational formula. We go by the CLAT-PG score," SG said.

The SG also informed the bench about a judgment of the Kerala High Court (NTPC v. Aishwarya Mohan) which upheld a similar notification issued by the NTPC to select law officers based on CLAT-PG scores. Though a Special Leave Petition has been filed against the Kerala High Court's judgment, no stay has been granted by the Supreme Court, he added.

CJI Kant observed, "We have seen in engineering services, where based upon GATE examination, people are selected. This is only an engagement for one or two years."

The counsel for the respondent submitted that practising lawyers are equally competent to be law officers. CJI then asked, "Can we force a particular client to engage a particular lawyer?"

Justice Joymalya Bagchi, pointing out that civil judges are selected based on an entrance test, said, "If the entrance test is outsourced, like a CLAT examination...what is the problem?"

"When they are having transparent, non-discriminatory criteria shortlisting young law graduates, only for the purpose of working for two years, what is the issue?" CJI asked. 

The counsel for the respondent argued that the CLAT-PG exam is intended for a different purpose - admission to PG law courses- and the expertise which the NHAI is seeking can be found in practising lawyers.

The bench, while staying the High Court's order, tagged the NHAI's petition along with the SLP arising from the Kerala High Court's judgment.

The High Court held that any criteria employed for judging the suitability of a candidate for pursuing higher studies cannot be employed for the purposes of adjudging his suitability for public employment.

Hence, the reliance on CLAT-PG scores to select legal officers was found to be arbitrary and unreasonable and hit by Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.

Case : NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AUTHORITY OF INDIA Vs SHANNU BAGHEL | SLP(C) No. 33251/2025