The Allahabad High Court has put a stay on a February 3, 2026, order that had directed the Consortium of National Law Universities (CNLU) to revise the CLAT 2026 merit list for future counselling rounds. The interim relief was granted by a division bench comprising Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Indrajeet Shukla.
The matter arose after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by Avneesh Gupta, a candidate who appeared for CLAT 2026. In his plea, Gupta alleged that his objections to the final answer key were not adequately considered. Acting on the petition, a single judge bench led by Justice Vivek Saran had directed the consortium to rectify errors in the CLAT 2026 answer key, recalculate the ranks of all candidates, and accordingly revise the merit list for subsequent counselling rounds.
However, the Consortium of National Law Universities challenged the order, arguing that re-evaluating and re-ranking thousands of candidates would significantly disrupt the ongoing admission process. Considering the potential impact on the admission cycle, the division bench decided to stay the implementation of the single judge’s directions until further orders.
With the stay in place, the previously announced merit list will continue to remain valid for the time being. The directive to revise the merit list will not be enforced immediately, and the counselling process will proceed as per further instructions from the consortium or the court.
At present, the CLAT 2026 counselling schedule remains awaited. Candidates are advised to regularly visit the official website, consortiumofnlus.ac.in, for updates regarding revised counselling dates, future admission rounds, or any notification related to answer key corrections and merit list changes.
Students preparing to participate in CLAT UG 2026 counselling should closely track official announcements. It is recommended that candidates keep all necessary documents ready to avoid last-minute inconvenience once the counselling schedule is announced.
The interim stay ensures continuity in the admission process while the legal proceedings continue. Until a final decision is delivered by the high court, the current merit list will remain in effect, and candidates are expected to follow official instructions issued by the consortium regarding the counselling process.