NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed candidates due to appear for the upcoming Chartered Accountant (CA) exams in July, to opt out if they or their family members have suffered from Covid-19 of late.
The court made it clear that RT-PCR reports will not be insisted upon for availing the opting out option, as long as the candidate gets a medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner. Candidates in containment zones can also opt out, the court said.
The judges rejected the suggestion by Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) that candidates will not be permitted to opt out if change of the centre is within the same city. “We direct that ICAI shall permit candidates to opt out in case of last minute change of centre, and the same shall not be treated as an attempt,” the court said.
A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Aniruddha Bose said: “Opt out facility will be available to candidates who suffered from Covid-19 or if their family members suffered from Covid-19 in the recent past. The same must be certified by a medical practitioner stating that the candidate is unable to prepare for exams... The candidate will be able to appear in exams in November.”