As Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2014 convenor GNLU Gandhinagar increased CLAT counselling process “administrative charges” tenfold since last year, candidates left in the lurch are calling the increase a “loot” and a “scam”.

GNLU and the CLAT committee would now retain Rs 10,000 as administrative charges, out of the Rs 1 lakh CLAT counselling fees that would be reimbursed to candidates who do not take admission in an NLU after the counselling. That "administrative charge" was Rs 1,000 until last year.

“This is simply unacceptable as it is a loot and is injustice,” commented a candidate on the rule while another candidate said, “From A to Z, CLAT has become a scam and GNLU has been the dirtiest bandit of them all.”

The CLAT counselling fee was doubled from Rs 50,000 last year to Rs 1 lakh this year and a candidate Nilav Bannerjee had in March written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the president of India against the increase. Bannerjee said that the president’s office had responded to him with a copy of the directive it had sent to the secretary of the Department of Higher Education, but there had been no follow up in the matter after this.

Bannerjee said: “The way GNLU handled CLAT-14, they have no right to withhold any amount as administrative charges. Doubling the provisional admission amount, charging an extra 1,000 INR for the application form, GNLU is upto fleecing money from the candidates in every possible way it can. And how do they explain the tenfold increase in the administrative charge. What is the mathematical basis, leave alone logic and necessity.”

Bannerjee also pointed out that candidates could not complete their education loan applications in time to meet the admission deadlines of various NLUs this time, due to GNLU’s delayed declaration of  CLAT results. This leaves students who could not arrange for admission fees without support of a bank loan, short of an NLU seat and Rs 10,000.

“In such a scenario, shouldn't GNLU be held responsible? And they are demanding 10,000 INR as administrative charges. A tenfold increase for such a shoddy, surreptitious and flimsy way of organizing CLAT-14 is in no way justified. This is nothing short of fleecing money overtly, at the cost of the test takers, parents and everyone else associated,” he added.

GNLU vice chancellor did not respond to phone calls seeking comment since Monday and the CLAT helpline was unresponsive.