Supreme Court Allows Chartered Accountant In-Person Exams From Monday

Exams for Chartered Accountants can be held in-person starting Monday (July 5), the Supreme Court said today, adding that the regulatory body should give an "opt-out" option to students who have been affected by Covid.

The top court had told the regulatory body to "nominate the medical authority" that can certify candidates - who've been impacted by coronavirus - to make it easier for them to drop out.

Hours after this direction, the ICAI told the court that candidates who are infected with coronavirus and those who are yet to recover from the after-effects of the infection can take the "opt-out" option.

The ICAI, in its note before the court, said that candidates who exercise this option will have to submit a medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner.

The medical certificate can be from private hospitals or private doctors or from government and district hospitals.

In case there is a change of examination centre due to some reasons, then the opt-out option can be exercised and it applies only in the case of inter-city change, the note further added.

The Supreme Court will take up the case tomorrow for hearing.

The ICAI will have to give an elaborate note of assurance by tomorrow with details on the protocol that shall be maintained in the examination halls.

All staff at the examination centres will have to give Covid-negative reports (RT-PCR tests), safety and security of the students must be ensured and examination halls can't be used for marriage or such purposes.

If the examination centre is changed at the eleventh hour, it can be a valid reason for not appearing for the exams, the top court stressed. "We are not stopping the exam. We are going to consider how opting out can be granted. In the midst of exams, out of five papers, if a student appears for three papers, he should be appearing in two papers only next time."

Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, heading a three-judge bench with Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Aniruddha Bose, shared his experience during the hearing: "Two of us (judges) had Covid, and we have a personal experience. The effect was there for three weeks, and I was unable to concentrate."

Justice Dinesh Maheshwari said, "It appears while taking this decision, you only concentrated on RT-PCR tests. Have you taken inputs on the impact of Covid? People are suffering even after months of infection. Have you taken this into account?"

To this, the ICAI replied that it hadn't. Lawyer Ramji Srinivasan, representing the Charted Accountants' body, said it will appoint the authority on certifying students.

When he said the court had allowed the exam last year too, the court said, "The debate is giving one opportunity to them (aspirants), and it has to be certified by some authority which you have to identify."

On Monday, the ICAI had told the court that it is against postponing or cancelling the exams. With a drop in India's daily Covid cases, it's the right time to conduct the exams for those aspiring to be Charted Accountants, it said.

Drawing a comparison between the CBSE exams and the exams for the CA aspirants, the regulatory body said that these "exams are professional and should not be compared with those conducted by the CBSE. These cannot be deferred or cancelled in the interest of aspiring Chartered Accountants." The CBSE exams for Class 12 were cancelled earlier this month as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the "health and safety of our students is of utmost importance and there would be no compromise on this aspect".

The top court on Monday was hearing petitions to increase the examination centres and extra attempts for students appearing in intermediate and final exams.

India has seen a drop in the daily surge in Covid cases in the last few weeks after a tough battle against the second wave that caught the world's attention. Experts, however, have sounded caution about a third wave if protocol is not followed.