Over the last three decades, the legal education landscape in India has grown tremendously. As of 2024, India has over 1700 law colleges and universities recognised by the Bar Council of India. To help students identify the best institutions for legal education, the Careers360 Law School Ranking 2025 provides an updated list of the top law colleges in India every year. The 2025 edition of Law School Ranking has NLSIU Bangalore, NLU Delhi and NALSAR Hyderabad as the top three law colleges in India.
Careers360 uses four parameters to determine the law school rankings. These parameters measure the law schools considering the faculty quality, student diversity, job prospects and infrastructure.
| Parameter | Weight |
|---|---|
Faculty Quality and Engagement | 15% |
Placement, Cost, Alumni, Research and Projects | 35% |
Living and Learning | 25% |
Student Quality and Diversity | 25% |
As of 2025, the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) data reports that over 65 Lakh civil and criminal cases are pending due to the non-availability of lawyers. The Ministry of Law and Justice revealed in 2023 that India has around 20 lakh lawyers registered in various courts in the country. Considering the number of cases pending in different courts, India needs more qualified litigation and corporate lawyers.
The number of law schools has significantly increased over the last three decades. Behind this unprecedented growth of law schools lies the numerous opportunities available in the legal profession. Traditionally, the legal profession in India was associated with courtroom practices. However, in the post-reform period, the growth of the private sector has opened up the corporate sector for law professionals and private law firms.
While litigation and corporate law are popular traditional career options, the legal profession has expanded beyond courtrooms, in areas such as legal research, advisory services, media and journalism. Law graduates have more career opportunities today than ever before.
The growing demand for specialized legal professionals has also resulted in law colleges offering different types of LLB degrees. The integrated LLB programme is offered with multiple combinations such as BA LLB, BBA LLB, BCom LLB, BSc LLB, and BTech LLB. Within these courses, specialisations are offered to meet the industry demands. These include specialization in Corporate Law, Cyber Law, Intellectual Property Law, Environment Law, Criminal Law, Tax Law and others.
Students are recommended to research various aspects of law colleges before choosing one for their higher education. Some of these are listed below.
The easiest way to understand the academic reputation of a law college is to check its place in various national and global rankings. The best law schools in India are ranked within the top 30 in all the major national ranking providers.
Law colleges in India must get accreditation from the Bar Council of India (BCI). The BCI is the apex regulating body in legal education. Non-recognition from BCI means the degree offered by the college will not be valid for practising law in the country.
The quality of faculty is directly related to the quality of learning. Students must understand the student-faculty ratio and their academic backgrounds. Experienced and permanent faculty are more likely to offer quality education.
This is one of the most important factors students must consider when applying for a law school. While LLB is available in most of the law colleges in India, relevant specialization may not be available. For example, students looking to enter corporate law are generally recommended to take up BBA LLB and choose the specialization subsequently.
Relatively new fields like Cyber Law, Intellectual Property Law (IPR), and Forensic Science Law might not yet be offered by all law colleges. So, students interested in these fields should apply to the colleges offering these specializations.
Studying law without internships is similar to studying engineering without practical training. Students must check if the college they are applying for has a dedicated internship and placement cell.
In top law schools, they are likely to find recruitment coordination committees often managed by the students. However, many law schools may not have these facilities.
Libraries are essential in law schools to trace the historical evolution of law and state. Legal research and study of different laws is a crucial part of the LLB curriculum and libraries play a crucial role in ensuring that students get easy access to all study material required. Whereas, moot courts prepare students for the courtroom culture and decorum.
The location of law colleges is another important factor the students should consider. A law school closer to the courts and corporate houses is likely to offer more internship and job opportunities than a law school far away from the city.
The law colleges in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad are typically situated near courts and corporate offices. This helps the students find relevant internships and job opportunities.
Rank | Law Institute | Programme | Total (500) |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | National Law School of India University, Bangalore | BA LLB | 379.23 |
2 | National Law University, New Delhi | BA LLB Hons | 377.84 |
3 | NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad | BA LLB Hons | 377.05 |
4 | The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata | BA LLB Hons, BSc LLB | 359.68 |
5 | Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar | B.Com LLB Hons/B.Sc LLB Hons/BA LLB Hons/BBA LLB Hons/BSW LLB Hons | 348.49 |
6 | Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi | BA LLB Hons | 343.64 |
7 | Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur | LLB Hons | 340.91 |
8 | National Law University, Jodhpur | BA LLB Hons/BBA LLB Hons | 335.03 |
9 | Symbiosis Law School, Pune | BA LLB Hons/BBA LLB Hons | 332.68 |
10 | Government Law College, Mumbai | BLS LLB | 319.68 |
11 | Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat | BA LLB Hons/BBA LLB Hons/B.Com LL.B | 314.88 |
12 | Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh | BA LLB | 310.47 |
13 | Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, Delhi | LLB | 309.78 |
14 | National Law University, Cuttack | BA LLB Hons/BBA LLB Hons | 309.03 |
15 | National Law Institute University, Bhopal | BA LLB Hons | 303.9 |
16 | Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala | BA LLB Hons | 303.39 |
17 | Amity Law School, Noida | B.Com LLB Hons/BA LLB Hons/BBA LLB Hons | 302.71 |
18 | School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore | BA LLB Hons/BBA LLB Hons | 301.63 |
19 | Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow | BA LLB Hons | 301.43 |
20 | Alliance School of Law, Bangalore | BA LLB Hons/BBA LLB Hons | 301.02 |
21 | Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad | B.Com LLB Hons/BA LLB Hons | 296.59 |
22 | National Law University and Judicial Academy, Guwahati | BA LLB Hons | 295.83 |
23 | Army Institute of Law, Mohali | BA LLB | 294.62 |
24 | ICFAI Law School, Hyderabad | BA LLB/BBA LLB | 294.29 |
25 | University School of Law and Legal Studies, New Delhi | BA LLB/BBA LLB/BA LLB Hons/BBA LLB Hons | 289.99 |
The first national law university in India, NLSIU Bangalore was established in 1988. The NLSIU Bangalore is consistently ranked as the best law school in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). The law school is also ranked as the top law school in the country by Careers360 Law School Rankings.
Based in Bangalore, Karnataka, NLSIU Bangalore offers BA LLB and LLM courses through the CLAT exam. Around 85-90 of the top 100 students in the CLAT exam choose NLSIU Bangalore.
In the 2023 batch, the university has a placement rate of around 75-85% and a median package of Rs. 16 LPA for integrated LLB, making it one of the most attractive destinations for studying higher education in law.
In recent years, NLSIU has started offering non-traditional law courses in an attempt to make it multidisciplinary. The recent courses started by NLSIU Bangalore include a 3-year LLB, Bachelor in Arts, Master’s Programme in Public Policy and various postgraduate diploma courses around Law.
NLU Delhi is ranked the second-best law school in the country by both NIRF and Careers360 Law School Rankings. The law university is based in Sector 14, Dwarika in the national capital.
NLU Delhi offers BA LLB, LLM, Masters in Law and PhD in Law. Admissions to all these programmes are held through AILET. In the 2023 batch, the university achieved an 83% placement rate, with a median salary of Rs. 14 LPA for BA LLB students.
NALSAR Hyderabad is the second most preferred NLU in the CLAT exam. The university has been consistently ranked 3rd best law school by NIRF Law School Ranking. It offers BA LLB and LLM, MBA, five-year Integrated Program in Management (IPM) and various other courses.
As per the 2023 placement records of the university, 98 out of 112 students secured placement with a median salary of Rs. 16 LPA.
Established a year after NALSAR Hyderabad, the WBNUJS Kolkata is ranked 4th in both NIRF and Careers360 Law School Rankings. The university is the third most popular law university among those participating in the CLAT exam. It offers BA LLB and BSc LLB at the undergraduate level, and LLM at the postgraduate level. In the UG programmes, the university offers 20+ elective courses, leading to specialization towards the end of the programme.
A median salary of Rs. 20 LPA secured by students from WBNUJS was the highest among all NLUs as per the NIRF 2024 report. The university achieved a placement percentage of 85% in the 2023 batch.
GNLU Gandhinagar is ranked 8th in the NIRF 2024 Law School Ranking. However, it secured 5th rank in the Careers360 Law School Ranking. The university was established in 2003. It has also started an off-campus in Silvassa in Dadra and Nagar Haveli in 2023. GNLU Gandhinagar offers five types of integrated LLB programmes — BA LLB(Hons.), BCom LLB(Hons.), BSc LLB (Hons.), BBA LLB(Hons), and BSW LLB(Hons). At postgraduate level
The CLAT cut-offs indicate GNLU Gandhinagar is the 5th most preferred university among students who take the CLAT exam. As per the placement records of the university in NIRF Law ranking 2024, 163 students from a batch of 175 got placements. The median salary was Rs. 16 LPA.
Jamia Millia Islamia is ranked 6th in both NIRF and Careers360 2024 Law School rankings. JMI is a central university. The Faculty of Law Department at JMI offers BA LLB and LLM courses. The university is among the most affordable law universities listed in the NIRF Law School Rankings. The BA LLB fee at JMI is Rs. 15,000 per year for the regular course. The university offers 60 seats, however, being a minority institution, a majority of seats are reserved.
The placement records of JMI are better than those of other central universities offering undergraduate law programmes. As per the NIRF Law ranking 2024, 55 students were placed from the 2023 batch of 66 students. The median salary of this batch was Rs. 8.4 LPA.
IITs are traditionally known for engineering courses. However, IIT Kharagpur is the only IIT which offers a 3-year LLB and LLM programmes. The institute is ranked the 7th best law school in India by both NIRF and Careers360 Law School Ranking 2024.
The courses offered by IIT Kharagpur are ideally designed for engineering and medical graduates wanting to study intellectual property law. The institute conducts its entrance exams for LLB and LLM admissions.
As per NIRF Law ranking 2024, the institute achieved a 100% growth in the placement packages offered to students of the 2023 batch. From a batch of 33 students, 29 were placed with a median salary of Rs. 18.23 LPA. In the 2022, and 2021 placements, the median salary secured by students at IIT Kharagpur was Rs. 9 LPA and Rs. 7 LPA respectively.
NLU Jodhpur is ranked the 8th best law school in India by Careers360 Law School Ranking 2024. The university did not participate in the NIRF Law Ranking 2024. Last time it participated in the NIRF 2022 edition of Law School Ranking and secured 10th position.
The CLAT cut-offs for previous years indicate that the university is 4th most popular NLU in the CLAT exam. It traditionally offered BA LLB and LLM courses. Recently, NLU Jodhpur has also started offering BBA LLB through the CLAT exam. Apart from the traditional law programmes, the university also offers MBA (Insurance) and Doctoral programmes.
Symbiosis Law School, Pune is among a few private law schools which compete with the top national law universities. The SLS Pune was established in 1977, almost 10 years before the first NLU was established.
SLS Pune is ranked 5th in the NIRF Law School Ranking 2024 and 9th in the Careers360 Law Schools Ranking. The law school offers BA LLB, BBA LLB at the undergraduate level and 3-year LLB and LLM at the postgraduate level. Apart from these courses, SLS Pune also offers multiple diploma courses for law students.
In the 2023 placements, the SLS Pune students of 5-year LLB secured a median salary of Rs. 18 LPA which is almost 100% higher than its 2022 placements. As per the NIRF 2024 data, 297 students graduated in 2023, of which 278 got placed.
GLC Mumbai, established in 1855, is the oldest law school in Asia. While the law school has not participated in NIRF rankings, it is ranked the 10th best law school in India by Careers360. GLC Mumbai offers a BLS LLB course at the undergraduate level and 3-year LLB and LLM courses at the postgraduate level. Admissions to LLB courses are conducted through the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test for Law (MH CET — Law).
The law college is also one of the most affordable law schools in India. The LLB course fee at GLC Mumbai is approximately Rs. 6800 per year. While GLC Mumbai does not make placement records available to the public, the Recruitment Coordination Committee keeps students updated about job and internship opportunities available with law firms, corporates and judges.
On Question asked by student community
If you have secured a CLAT 2026 rank of 13656 and are aiming for admission to LLM programmes in National Law Universities (NLUs), it’s important to understand how selection usually works. LLM admissions at most NLUs depend primarily on the candidate’s CLAT PG rank, but the level of competition is high because many applicants compete for a limited number of seats. With a rank around 13656, the chances of securing a seat in the most sought-after NLUs like NLSIU Bengaluru, NALSAR Hyderabad, WBNUJS Kolkata or National Law University Delhi are quite slim because these institutions tend to have much higher closing ranks for most specialisations in their LLM programmes.
However, your rank keeps you in a position to explore other good NLUs and national law schools where the closing ranks are relatively lower or have larger seat matrices. Institutions such as Hidayatullah National Law University Raipur, National Law University Odisha, Gujarat National Law University, Tamil Nadu National Law University, Chanakya National Law University Patna and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University Lucknow have historically had closing ranks beyond the top five NLUs. These universities often offer quality legal education, experienced faculty, moot court activities, internships and decent placement opportunities for LLM graduates. Many of them also have specialisations in areas like constitutional law, corporate law, human rights law and international law, giving you options to pursue your interests.
It is also essential to remember that CLAT PG counselling usually happens in multiple rounds, including mop-up and stray vacancy rounds, through which seats in various universities are reallocated as candidates make changes or withdraw. With a rank in the mid-range, participating in all counselling rounds will improve your chances because some seats open up later in the process. Apart from NLUs, some universities and law schools that accept CLAT PG scores may also offer admission based on home-state quotas or reserved category benefits if applicable to you. Evaluating all these options with an open mind will help you find a suitable law institute where you can pursue your LLM and build your legal career.
All the best.
With a CLAT PG rank of 1257 in the SC category and being a woman candidate with Rajasthan domicile, you do have a realistic chance of securing admission to several National Law Universities, though the top NLUs may be difficult at this rank. Admission chances depend heavily on category-wise cut-offs, domicile reservations, and how many seats are available in a given year. For top-tier NLUs like NLSIU Bengaluru, NALSAR Hyderabad, or NLUD, the closing ranks for SC category usually fall much lower, so chances there are minimal. However, you should definitely consider mid- and lower-ranked NLUs where SC category cut-offs often extend beyond 1200–1500 ranks.
You should prioritise NLUs that offer domicile or state quota benefits, especially those closer to your home state or neighbouring regions. National Law University Jodhpur (if applicable under domicile or category movement), Hidayatullah National Law University Raipur, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University Lucknow, Gujarat National Law University Gandhinagar, Maharashtra National Law University (Nagpur or Aurangabad), National Law University Odisha, and Tamil Nadu National Law University are some options where candidates in the SC category with similar ranks have secured seats in previous counselling rounds. Lower-tier NLUs like Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Himachal Pradesh National Law University, and Dharmashastra National Law University can also be kept in your preference list as safer options.
Your strategy should be to keep a wide preference list during counselling, placing mid-ranked NLUs first and then moving to lower NLUs, rather than restricting yourself only to a few choices. Also, stay active during subsequent counselling rounds and vacancy rounds, as many seats in the SC category are filled later due to withdrawals. Overall, while top NLUs may be tough, you have a fair chance of getting into a decent NLU if you plan your preferences smartly and remain flexible.
With a CLAT PG rank of around 11,000, getting admission into the top National Law Universities (NLUs) is not likely, as their general category cut-offs usually close much earlier. However, you still have realistic chances in lower-ranked and newer NLUs, especially in the later rounds of CLAT counselling or through vacant seats.
At this rank, you may consider NLUs such as NLU Tripura, NLU Meghalaya, NLU Nagaland, NLU Sikkim, NLU Andhra Pradesh, NLU Odisha, NLU Jabalpur, and NLU Aurangabad, particularly if you belong to a reserved category like SC, ST, OBC, EWS, or have domicile or women reservation applicable. Cut-offs for these universities tend to go higher in rank compared to older NLUs, and seats often open up in subsequent counselling rounds due to withdrawals.
If you do not secure an NLU seat, you should also strongly consider reputed state and private law universities that accept CLAT PG scores or conduct their own entrance tests. Universities such as Faculty of Law, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Delhi University (DU – through CUET PG), Jamia Millia Islamia, Symbiosis Law School, Christ University, Jindal Global Law School, and Nirma University are good alternatives for LLM aspirants. Many of these institutions offer strong academic exposure, experienced faculty, and good research opportunities, sometimes even better than newer NLUs.
Overall, while a rank of 11,000 limits options in top NLUs, admission is still possible in newer NLUs or good non-NLU law universities, provided you actively participate in counselling rounds and keep backup options ready.
With a CLAT 2026 All India Rank around 2070, Telangana domicile, and holding an OBC certificate (girl candidate), your chances of getting admission into a top-tier NLU like NLSIU Bengaluru, NALSAR Hyderabad, NUJS Kolkata or NLU Jodhpur are quite low, as their closing ranks are usually much higher. However, you still have realistic chances in several mid-tier and newer NLUs, especially if OBC reservation and domicile or women reservation is applicable.
Based on previous years’ counselling trends, you can reasonably expect chances in NLUs such as NLU Odisha (Cuttack), NLIU Bhopal (borderline, depending on category movement), NLU Assam (Guwahati), DSNLU Visakhapatnam, TNNLU Tiruchirappalli, HPNLU Shimla, NLU Tripura, NLU Meghalaya, NLU Sikkim, and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar NLU Sonipat. Some of these universities see rank movement in later rounds and vacancies, particularly for reserved categories and women candidates.
Since you are from Telangana, you should definitely keep NALSAR Hyderabad in your preference list, but only after all higher NLUs, as the domicile quota is limited and usually closes at a much better rank. Still, it is worth trying because domicile and category together can sometimes help in spot or vacancy rounds.
Your best strategy would be to prepare a balanced preference list: first include all top NLUs, then mid-tier NLUs like NLU Odisha and NLIU Bhopal, followed by newer and lower-ranked NLUs where your rank has a stronger chance. Make sure you actively participate in all counselling rounds, including vacancies, as many seats open up after withdrawals.
Cut-offs vary every year depending on seat intake, category distribution, and counselling dynamics, so even if you miss out in early rounds, you should not lose hope. Keep your documents ready, track counselling updates closely, and stay flexible with preferences to maximize your chances of securing an NLU seat.
Hello there,
Here is a list of government and semi-government colleges that accept CLAT score:
However, these universities also carry out separate registration to apply using your CLAT Scorecard.
I hope this helps you.
Thankyou.
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