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NIRF 2026 NLU Placement Data: Top Law Schools Dominate as Mid-Tier Universities Show Sharp Disparities
Around 15 National Law Universities (NLUs) have published the NIRF data submitted to the Ministry of Education (MoE). The data provides an early look at the placement trends across top law schools in the country. While top NLUs dominating placements are a familiar pattern, newer NLUs, HPNLU Shimla and MNLU Mumbai, have shown noticeable improvements in median salaries and placement percentages. Placements in mid-tier NLUs show wide disparity, with median salaries ranging from ₹ 16.50 LPA to ₹ 7 LPA.
The MoE is yet to publish the NIRF 2026 ranking. However, the raw data provided by universities serves as a crucial resource for understanding placement trends in NLUs and salaries offered by law firms and corporates to fresh law graduates.
NLU Placements Statistics
The median salary is a crucial part of the Graduation Outcomes parameter of NIRF, which holds 20% weightage in determining overall ranking. The table below shows the NIRF 2026 placements statistics as submitted by the universities.
NLU Placements 2026: Statistics
NLU Name | No. Graduating | No. Placed | Median Salary (₹) | No. for Higher Studies | Placement Percentage (In %) |
NLSIU Bengaluru | 91 | 83 | 19,00,000 | 5 | 96.51 |
NALSAR Hyderabad | 135 | 115 | 18,00,000 | 20 | 100.00 |
WBNUJS Kolkata | 127 | 111 | 20,00,000 | 6 | 91.74 |
NUALS Kochi | 67 | 44 | 15,50,000 | 5 | 70.96% |
HNLU Raipur | 141 | 82 | 16,50,000 | 30 | 73.87 |
RGNUL Patiala | 169 | 69 | 10,00,000 | 46 | 56.10 |
CNLU Patna | 103 | 80 | 12,00,000 | 23 | 100.00 |
NLU Odisha | 156 | 93 | 9,00,000 | 17 | 66.91 |
NUSRL Ranchi | 106 | 79 | 10,70,802 | 27 | 100.00 |
NLU Assam | 59 | 28 | 10,80,000 | 14 | 62.22 |
DSNLU Visakhapatnam | 118 | 36 | 8,00,000 | 4 | 31.58 |
MNLU Mumbai | 115 | 77 | 12,00,000 | 5 | 70.00 |
HPNLU Shimla | 112 | 70 | 12,00,000 | 40 | 97.22 |
DNLU Jabalpur (MPDNLU) | 115 | 30 | 4,50,000 | 0 | 26.09 |
Top 5 NLUs in Placements
NALSAR Hyderabad leads the list with 100% placement record, with a median salary of ₹18 LPA. However, WBNUJS Kolkata has the highest median salary with ₹20 LPA. NLSIU Bengaluru has reported the second-highest median salary for its graduating batch.
Top NLUs in Median Salary
Rank | NLU Name | Median Salary (₹) | Placement % | Students Placed | Graduating Students |
1 | WBNUJS Kolkata | 20,00,000 | 92.13 | 111 | 127 |
2 | NLSIU Bengaluru | 19,00,000 | 96.70 | 83 | 91 |
3 | NALSAR Hyderabad | 18,00,000 | 100.00 | 115 | 135 |
4 | HNLU Raipur | 16,50,000 | 79.43 | 82 | 141 |
5 | NUALS Kochi | 15,50,000 | 70.96 | 44 | 67 |
6 | CNLU Patna / MNLU Mumbai | 12,00,000 | 100.00 / 71.30 | 80 / 77 | 103 / 115 |
NIRF 2026 Data - NLU Placement Comparison Year-on-Year
A good way to evaluate NLUs is to compare the placements year by year. Established universities tend to show consistency in placements and academics. For example, the median packages in top-tier NLUs such as NLSIU Bengaluru, NALSAR Hyderabad and WBNUJS Kolkata remain largely consistent. NLU Odisha, a mid-tier NLU, has reported a noticeable drop, with its median salary falling from ₹14 LPA to ₹ 9 LPA. The table below denotes a year-on-year comparison of the median salaries of all NLUs as per NIRF data.
NLUs Placements Comparison - 2025 vs 2024
NLU Name | 2024-25 Median Salary (₹) | 2023-24 Median Salary (₹) | Change |
NLSIU Bengaluru | 19,00,000 | 16,00,000 | ↑ ₹3,00,000 |
NALSAR Hyderabad | 18,00,000 | 17,50,000 | ↑ ₹50,000 |
WBNUJS Kolkata | 20,00,000 | 20,00,000 | Stable |
HNLU Raipur | 16,50,000 | 15,00,000 | ↑ ₹1,50,000 |
NUALS Kochi | 15,50,000 | 15,00,000 | ↑ ₹50,000 |
RGNUL Patiala | 10,00,000 | 9,00,000 | ↑ ₹1,00,000 |
CNLU Patna | 12,00,000 | 10,80,000 | ↑ ₹1,20,000 |
RGNUL Patiala | 10,00,000 | 9,00,000 | ↑ ₹1,00,000 |
NLU Odisha | 9,00,000 | 14,00,000 | -₹5,00,000 |
NUSRL Ranchi | 10,70,802 | 9,33,000 | ↑ ₹1,37,802 |
NLU Assam | 10,80,000 | 8,90,000 | ↑ ₹1,90,000 |
DSNLU Visakhapatnam | 6,00,000 | 7,50,000 | ↑ ₹1,50,000 |
MNLU Mumbai | 12,00,000 | 10,00,000 | ↑ ₹2,00,000 |
HPNLU Shimla | 12,00,000 | 10,00,000 | ↑ ₹2,00,000 |
DNLU Jabalpur | 4,50,000 | 3,00,000 | ↑ ₹1,50,000 |
RMNLU Lucknow | 7,00,000 | 7,00,000 | Stable |
What does the NIRF 2026 data tell us about NLU Placements?
Here are some key highlights that the data points denote:
There is a clear gap between placements of top-tier, mid-tier and low-tier NLUs. NLSIU Bengaluru, NALSAR Hyderabad, and WBNUJS Kolkata recorded median salaries of ₹19 LPA, ₹18 LPA & ₹20 LPA, respectively.
Among the low-tier HPNLU, Shimla has shown an impressive placement record with a median salary of ₹12 LPA and a placement percentage of around 97%.
NLSIU Bengaluru has been ranked first consistently since the beginning of NIRF Law rankings, but WBNUJS Kolkata beats NLSIU in terms of median salary.
NLUs' institutional reputation is a true differentiating factor in placements; for example, older universities have better placement records in comparison to newer NLUs.
NLUs with higher seat intake had noticeably lower placement percentage. For example, RGNUL Patiala, with 169 students in the final year, recorded only 56.10% placement.
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