Looks like the CA aspirants in the country have to wait for one more day to know if the examinations will be postponed — as well as get more details on the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India's (ICAI) opt-out scheme. A Supreme Court bench that heard a plea seeking the CA exam's postponement said that it will be listed for hearing on Wednesday.
However, the bench added that examiners and invigilators will mandatorily have to do an RT-PCR test before the examination. The CA exam is to be held on July 5 in over 800 centres across the country.
On Monday, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India had told the court that it will allow an opt-out option to aspirants if they're tested positive for COVID or are living with COVID positive family members. While hearing the matter, Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Anirudha Bhose, on Tuesday, told the ICAI that the "opt-out has to be for a good reason. Someone has to certify (whether the opt-out is genuine) and ultimately the institute will take a call on that. Otherwise, it will be an unending process."
The court also asked the ICAI to submit their SOPs before them, "Prepare a brief note - one regarding RT-PCR, second is the SOP to be maintained in the examination halls and that should be maintained strictly. It shouldn’t be like (our) marriage halls. Ensure that exclusivity is maintained," the bench told the ICAI. The court also asked the body to talk about the transportation arrangements in the note that they submit.
