May exam of CA cancelled, will be included in November cycle: ICAI

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) informed the Supreme Court that the proposed CA examinations for the May cycle from July 29 to August 16 have been canceled in view of the increasing number of covid-19 cases in the country.

The bench headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar was informed by the ICAI advocate that the May cycle examination would now be absorbed into the November 2020 CA examination. The bench was hearing a petition through video conferencing challenging the option of 'not adopting (opt out)' given to the candidates by the ICAI.

It was alleged in this petition by the India Wide Parents Association that this option is biased for candidates wishing to appear for the CA examination in the month of May. The bench disposed of the petition after hearing the statement of ICAI advocate. However, petitioner's advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava drew the court's attention to some aspects related to the CA examinations. The bench asked the advocate for the petitioner to report to the ICAI in this regard.

Earlier, the court said on June 29 that amid the COVID-19 pandemic, ICAI should take a flexible approach in conducting examinations and also take into account the concerns of the candidates.