Supreme Court asks ICAI to issues SOPs for July exam; test to not be postponed

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to share the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the July exam. Representing ICAI, senior advocate Ramji Srinivasan said in the SC that students will be given the option to opt-out from the upcoming July exam. He added that such students can give the exam later, reported Moneycontrol. The opt-out window for the July exam has opened from 28 June for the final (old and new), intermediate (IPC), intermediate, and foundation exams. The exams will not be postponed, according to Supreme Court and on 30 June, the court is going to pass the final order regarding opting out, reported the publication. LiveLaw reports that the apex court asked ICAI to submit a note on several points today including if there are any alternative options for the RT PCR certificate. It asked ICAI to ensure that the exam centre is not used for other purposes and that examiners should also have their RT PCR test before the examination. These observations were made while SC was hearing a petition filed by CA students that seeks to postpone the exam scheduled to be held on 5 July due to concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic. In a note submitted by ICAI yesterday, it was stated that if the students or any of their family members are infected with Covid-19 on or after 21 June then they can avail the opt-out option by submitting the positive Covid-19 report. ICAI had also stated in its brief note that as there are fewer Covid-19 cases now, the exams should be held as per the schedule and it would be in the best interest of students to do that.