Petition seeks Supreme Court Directive to Quash CA Opt-out Scheme

A petition has been filed with the Supreme Court seeking more centres and a stay on the allegedly discriminatory ‘Opt-out’ scheme for 467,000 Chartered Accountant aspirants for the examination to be held from 29 July to 16 August in the middle of the pandemic.

The petition claimed that the notification released by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) on 15 June violated the fundamental rights of the students.

The Public Interest Litigation, filed by Alakh Alok Srivasta on behalf of the ‘India Wide Parents Association’, mentioned that the ICAI had announced that the CA examination for the May 2020 cycle would be held from 29 July to 16 August. However, it then released a notification about an ‘Opt-out’ option, which the PIL termed as “discriminatory and arbitrary”. Those who choose this option will find their attempt for May 2020 cancelled.

The litigation argued that the option discriminates between underprivileged students living in remote areas or containment zones who will lose a valuable attempt at the examination compared to those who live in big cities or green zones since they will not have trouble taking the examination.

The petition is seeking a directive from the court to quash the notification. It has also sought an increase in the number of examination centres to make sure that at least one examination centre is there in every district of the country. Currently, there are 259 examination centres in the country and five centres overseas.