CLAT 2026 Merit List Revision Stayed by Allahabad High Court on Appeal

The Allahabad High Court has stayed a prior single-judge order that had directed the Consortium of National Law Universities (Consortium of NLUs) to revise the CLAT-UG 2026 merit list following complaints about the final answer key. A division bench comprising Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Indrajeet Shukla passed the stay order on 20 February 2026 while hearing a special appeal against the earlier judgement.

The stay order comes after a special appeal challenged the single judge’s revision directive

Earlier, a single judge had ordered the Consortium to revise the CLAT 2026 merit list after a petitioner raised objections to the final answer key — claiming that valid objections to at least one question had not been considered before final rankings were published. The judge directed that both options for a contested question be treated as correct and that all candidates’ scores be recalculated before issuing a revised merit list for future counselling rounds. However, the Consortium argued that implementing such a revision at this stage would disrupt the entire ongoing admission process. The division bench accepted this argument and stayed the lower court’s order on appeal, effectively halting the revision until the matter is finally resolved.

The High Court hearing continued as the special appeal was taken up on 20 February 2026

On 20 February 2026, the High Court conducted hearings for the special appeal challenging the earlier directive. Reports indicate that the case was listed and heard before the Division Bench, with the court considering submissions from both sides regarding potential disruption to admissions if the merit list were to be revised mid-process. This was a critical day for the CLAT 2026 admission cycle, as the outcome of the appeal affects counselling schedules and merit list validity for thousands of aspirants.

Existing CLAT 2026 counselling continues with the current merit list in place

With the stay in effect, the existing CLAT 2026 merit list remains valid for counselling and seat allocation until further orders from the High Court. The Consortium has indicated that it will continue with counselling as per the current list while the appeal remains pending. Candidates who have already secured seats in earlier rounds should not be immediately affected by the legal dispute.

The underlying issue arose from objections to the CLAT final answer key

The dispute traces back to challenges raised by a candidate who alleged that specific answers in the CLAT 2026 final key were overlooked when objections were reviewed. The Single Judge’s order had effectively recognised both options for a disputed question, which would have altered candidate scores and rankings, necessitating a merit list revision. The Consortium’s appeal argued against recalculation at this stage, citing chaos and potential unfairness in an already ongoing counselling cycle if ranks were retroactively changed mid-process.

Students are advised to follow official updates from the Consortium website

The CLAT 2026 merit list dispute remains under judicial consideration, and the final outcome will influence counselling schedules and admission notices. Candidates should regularly check consortiumofnlus.ac.in for updates on revised counselling dates and merit lists once the appeal is decided.