The Allahabad High Court on Friday overturned a single-judge decision that had directed revision of the CLAT-2026 merit list, holding that the final answer key prepared by the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) did not require judicial intervention.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Swarupama Chaturvedi restored the original CLAT-2026 results and evaluation process, noting that the answer key had been examined at several levels by subject experts as well as an Oversight Committee.

The Bench observed that courts should exercise restraint while dealing with academic matters and should not interfere with decisions of expert bodies unless there is a clear and apparent error. It held that the answers accepted by the Consortium reflected a “plausible academic interpretation” and could not be termed manifestly illegal.

The case stemmed from a petition filed by a CLAT aspirant challenging the evaluation of three questions in the December 2025 examination conducted for admissions to five-year LL.B. courses in NLUs. The petitioner claimed that alleged errors in evaluation had negatively impacted his marks and rank.

Earlier, a single-judge bench had partly allowed the plea and directed the Consortium to revise and republish the merit list by accepting two options as correct for one disputed question. Aggrieved by the order, the Consortium approached the Division Bench in appeal.

Setting aside the earlier ruling, the Division Bench reiterated that courts cannot replace the opinion of academic experts with their own merely because an alternative interpretation is possible.