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    CLAT Data Shows General Category Dominating at 62% Persisting Inequities
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    • CLAT Data Shows General Category Dominating at 62% Persisting Inequities

    CLAT Data Shows General Category Dominating at 62% Persisting Inequities

    Shubham BhakuniUpdated on 08 Dec 2025, 12:58 PM IST

    According to a Right to Information data, a total of 62,832 candidates registered for UG-CLAT 2025. The registrations were highest in the last six years. Year-on-year, the registration improved by around 18%. The general category participation was highest with 37,892 participants appearing in the exam, followed by 14,444 from the OBC and 6,331 from the SC categories.

    CLAT Data Shows General Category Dominating at 62% Persisting Inequities
    CLAT 2025 Data Shows General Category Dominating at 62% Amid Persisting Inequities

    General Category Dominates With 62% Share

    The category-wise breakup of student data shows that the general category remains the most competitive among all. General category candidates, including EWS, make up 62.60% — from roughly 30% of the total population.

    In contrast;

    • OBC students were 23.86%. Their population share is roughly 40-50%
    • SC participation in CLAT was close to 10.46%; they constitute around 16.8% of the total population as per 2011 census data
    • ST representation is around 3%, which is similar to JEE and NEET exams. They make up around 8.6% of the total population
    • The EWS category has no official survey data, but it is roughly around 18% as per NITI Aayog estimates. Against this, around 8.9% students participate in CLAT from this category.

    CLAT 2025 and 2024 Registration Trends: Category-Wise Breakup

    Category

    2025

    2024

    Applied

    Appeared

    Applied

    Appeared

    General*

    39,285

    37,892

    32,904

    31,870

    OBC

    14,896

    14,444

    13,995

    13,702

    SC

    6,676

    6,331

    6,257

    6,037

    ST

    1,975

    1,859

    1,644

    1,571

    Total

    62,832

    60,526

    54,800

    53,180

    PwD

    324

    300

    634

    613

    General-EWS

    5,489

    5,391

    4,618

    4,523

    PwD and EWS categories are included in other relevant categories above
    Source- RTI

    Year on year, the general category saw the highest jump in registrations. The numbers rose by over 5,000 in a single year, indicating an increased level of competition in this category.

    CLAT UG and PG: Historical Data

    Year

    Appeared

    (UG + PG)

    CLAT UG

    CLAT PG

    Appeared

    Appeared

    2025

    75,361

    60,544

    14,817

    2024

    65,185

    53,180

    12,005

    2023

    51,469

    42,766

    8,703

    2022

    59,443

    53,226

    6,217

    2021

    62,106

    53,532

    8,574

    Success Rate in CLAT

    Overall, CLAT success rate ranges from 5-6% and it varies for each NLU, with four top-ranked universities recording less than 1% success rate for the general category. The success rate drops due to the NLU preference order submitted by students just before the counselling.

    Big 4 NLUs: less than 1% success rate for general category

    NLU Name

    Closing Rank

    Success Rate (in %)

    NLSIU Bengaluru

    112

    0.30

    NALSAR Hyderabad

    159

    0.42

    WBNUJS Kolkata( BA LLB)

    327

    0.86

    NLU Jodhpur

    367

    0.97

    Tier 2 universities follow the top-4 NLUs mentioned above. These include GNLU Gandhinagar, NLIU Bhopal, RMLNLU Lucknow, HNLU Raipur, NLU Odisha, RGNLU Patiala, NLU Kochi and CNLU Patna.

    OBC Participation in CLAT Vs JEE & NEET

    The 2025 and 2024 CLATs had 23.86% and 25.77% representation from the Other Backward Classes (OBC). This is significantly lower participation compared to two other major national entrance exams conducted in India - JEE and NEET, where they form the majority.

    JEE-Main paper 1 held in 2025 had 38.7% OBC participation, the highest among all categories. NEET UG 2025 also had a similar participation at 41.67%, outnumbering general category students. The OBC share in the total population in the country was 52% according to the 1980 Mandal Commission report. The 2006 National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) claims OBC forms 41% of the total population in the country. Both the Mandal Commission and the NSSO data, if taken as reference points, align with OBC participation in JEE and NEET.

    Looking ahead: 2026 CLAT expected to continue this trend

    The exorbitant CLAT application fee, with an English-heavy question paper, is seen by the students as prohibitive, discouraging lower-income groups from participating in the examination. The NLU's fee structure is also at par with most of the private law schools, making affordability an important factor in choosing law schools.

    As there have been no attempts in CLAT 2026 to improve student participation in different categories, the current trend is expected to continue.

    CLAT 2026 is set to reveal its own participation insights once the consortium releases the data. Based on current trends, another uptick in registrations is likely, driven by:

    • Increasing competition in the general category

    • Saturation in engineering/medical career options

    • Acceptance of law as a mainstream career and increasing opportunities in the private sector

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    Questions related to CLAT

    On Question asked by student community

    Have a question related to CLAT ?


    With a rank of 3917 in CLAT PG, your best options for an LLM include top private universities that accept CLAT scores, along with CUETPG opportunities. Some of the best non-NLU options are BHU, LPU Jalandhar, UPES Dehradun, etc.

    Hello Santosh,

    Domicile cut-offs are unpredictable. You can apply and get a seat only if the domicile category is selected. You can apply, but the chances of getting either of them are rare.

    CLAT is an entrance examination conducted for admissions into law colleges. The qualifying marks vary with the colleges. You should check the details on the website to get a clear idea regarding cut offs for the colleges. You will also get the exam pattern through the article shared.

    The exact number for students appeared for CLAT has not been revealed yet. About 88,657 students appeared Nationwide for CLAT examination.

    Hello, it is highly unlikely to get admission to the GGSIPU Main Campus or VIPS. However, you can target other colleges affiliated with GGSIPU through the counselling process.