CLAT 2025 Counselling Postponed till Further Notice; What Lies Ahead?

CLAT 2025 Counselling Postponed till Further Notice; What Lies Ahead?

Sumeet SudarshanUpdated on 27 Dec 2024, 03:45 PM IST

The Consortium of NLUs has notified a delay in the publication of the first CLAT 2025 merit list that was originally scheduled to be published on December 26, 2024. The CLAT 2025 counselling has been postponed until further notice due to the order passed by the Divisional Bench of the Delhi HC on December 2024. The question on every aspirant’s mind is what’s next? The Consortium of NLUs has now decided to appeal in the Supreme Court against the HC order. Read on to get all the details about the delay in CLAT counselling 2025, including the controversy surrounding CLAT 2025 and the underlying reasons for the delay in counselling.

CLAT 2025 Counselling Postponed till Further Notice; What Lies Ahead?
CLAT 2025 Counselling Postponed till Further Notice

Consortium of NLUs Notification on Postponement of CLAT 2025 Counselling


Consortium of NLUs Notification on Postponement of CLAT 2025 Counselling

What is the Cause for the Delay in CLAT 2025 Counselling?

The cause of the delay in CLAT 2025 counselling are the numerous court petitions filed against CLAT 2025 answer key. In a judgement passed on December 24, the Divisional Bench of the Delhi HC upheld the verdict passed by a single judge of the HC four days earlier. As per the judgement, changes have been made to two questions in the CLAT 2025 Set A Answer Key which are as under -

  • The answer to question no. 14 has been changed to Option C instead of Option D as determined by the consortium.

  • Question no 100 has been withdrawn as none of the given options was found to be correct.

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Changes will be made to corresponding questions in other sets of the CLAT 2025 answer key as well.

clat ug set a question paper

This change in the CLAT 2025 final answer key is likely to lead to a revision in the CLAT 2025 result and preparation of the CLAT 2025 merit list. It is for this reason that the Consortium of NLUs has postponed the counselling process.

What lies Ahead?

Along with notifying the delay in CLAT 2025 counselling, the Consortium of NLUs has also informed that it will approach the Supreme Court against the HC verdict. The counselling is expected to start only after the case is heard in the Supreme Court.

The consortium of NLUs has further said that it will provide regular updates in the matter through notifications on the official website. So, candidates must keep checking the consortium’s website for any developments.

Impact of HC Order on CLAT 2025 Result

The Delhi HC order can impact CLAT 2025 score in several ways depending on whether candidates attempted the two questions or not. The CLAT 2025 score can go up by 1.25 marks or it can go down by 1.25 marks as well depending on which answer the candidate marked in the exam for the two questions.

The CLAT marks vs rank analysis shows that even one mark can change CLAT 2025 rank drastically and decide whether a candidate gets a seat in the premier NLUs. The graphics below explain the possibility of a change in marks in detail.

Question No. 14

CLAT Question No. 14

Question No. 100

CLAT Question No. 100

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Questions related to CLAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CLAT ?

Hello

With a CLAT PG rank of 1257 in the SC category (women), you definitely have a realistic chance of getting an NLU, though the very top one is less certain. You should still keep the top NLUs first in your preference list because movement happens during counselling. Prefer this order: NLSIU Bengaluru, NALSAR Hyderabad, WBNUJS Kolkata, NLIU Bhopal, GNLU Gandhinagar, then other NLUs as backups. Your category and women's reservation work in your favour. Fill choices wisely and stay patient through multiple rounds, your chances are good.

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:

  1. IIM Rohtak
  2. Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
  3. National Forensic Science University
  4. CUSAT
  5. Jamia Hamdard University

However, these universities also carry out separate registration to apply using your CLAT Scorecard.

I hope this helps you.

Thankyou.

Hello,

With EWS rank 2673 in CLAT 2026, you are unlikely to get the top NLUs like NLSIU Bengaluru, NALSAR Hyderabad, NLIU Bhopal, or RMLNLU Lucknow .

You have good chances for mid-tier NLUs such as:

  • DBRANLU Sonepat

  • MPDNLU Jabalpur

  • IIULER Goa

  • NUSRL Ranchi

  • DSNLU Visakhapatnam

  • CNLU Patna BBA LLB

  • RPNLU Prayagraj (in later rounds)

  • Most newer MNLUs like Mumbai, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Silvassa

Final allotment can vary depending on counselling rounds and seat availability

You can also use our CLAT College Predictor Tool to predict which colleges you can get based on your score and rank.

Hope it helps !