The Rajasthan High Court has refused to allow a candidate to change her reservation category after the results were announced.
The petition was heard by a single-judge bench. The petitioner had contended that she had mistakenly mentioned her category in the CLAT application form and wanted to correct it after the results were declared. She approached the court seeking permission to correct it. By that time, the first round of counseling had already started.
Opposing the plea, counsel for the respondents, Rishabh Khandelwal and Shivangshu Naval, argued that the candidates were given time to correct their applications till November 9, 2025. The petitioner did not make any correction within that window. The policy was applied equally to everyone, so an exception cannot be made now.
They also pointed out that counselling began on January 7, 2026, and the petitioner filed for correction on January 8, almost two months after the deadline ended. They submitted that allowing such belated requests would affect the rights of other candidates who had filled their forms correctly and within time, and would disturb the counselling schedule.
Agreeing with the respondents, the court said that allowing such a change at this stage would be an afterthought and would disturb the entire admission process. The court noted that a correction window is provided to maintain a balance between individual claims and the need for a smooth, time-bound selection. If corrections are allowed after results, the finality of the process would be lost.
The court relied on the Division Bench judgement of the Jodhpur seat in Piyush Kaviya vs Rajasthan Public Service Commission, which says that late corrections cannot be allowed as it unsettles the merit list and creates uncertainty in the selection process. A timely process is in public interest.
Further, citing the Supreme Court's verdict in J&K Public Service Commission vs Israr Ahmad, the High Court said that the selection process is a continuous and integrated process and the category once chosen by a candidate remains binding throughout all stages of recruitment.
It also referred to Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur vs Neetu Harsh, (2005) 12 SCC 498, which held that if a candidate does not claim reservation at the initial stage, she cannot claim it later after the selection is over.
The bench also cited similar orders passed by the Delhi High Court in Sharanya Kaja vs Directorate General of Health Services and Ms. Aadya Yadav vs Union of India, and the Kerala High Court in Govardhan S vs CLAT Consortium of NLU, which had taken a similar view.
Dismissing the petition, the court made it clear that reservation category cannot be changed after the cut-off date, even if the candidate claims that a less meritorious candidate has been selected in that category.
Also Check:
PM SHRI Scheme: Over 13,000 Schools turned into Model Schools, 20 Lakh Students to Benefit
