CLAT 2027 Reforms: India’s Chance to Globalise Its Legal Education Standards

Past Reforms

Five years ago, the CLAT was reformed to bring qualitative change in the screening process. Comprehension-based questions were introduced — shifting focus from rote memorisation to legal skills. The initial four CLATs (2020-2023) were consistent with the promises made by the consortium — a pivot to legal skills over rote memorisation.

Careers360, as part of its coverage of student-centric issues, provided ground reporting for all exams. The experts analysed the question papers, received feedback from students, parents and teachers. Students and experts called it one of the lengthiest law entrance exams, requiring the students to read around 8,000-10,000 words within two hours and answer 150 questions.

The Reform Push: 2024 and 2025 CLAT Decline

In 2024, the consortium reduced the number of questions from 150 to 120 to make the exam student-friendly. In this process, CLAT has faced a general qualitative decline. The 2025 CLAT became one of the most controversial exams in its history. Questions were raised on answer keys, results, and counselling, causing widespread frustration among students and a general loss of trust in India’s most prestigious law entrance exam.

An RTI filed by Careers360 revealed that CBSE students are 6x more likely to clear CLAT than those from regional boards — due to English-medium instruction and curriculum alignment with CLAT’s comprehension-heavy format.

Problem with CLAT Question Paper

CLAT has five sections.

1. English language (20%) – Test of reading skills, comprehension, inference and ability to identify arguments.

2. General knowledge and current affairs (25%) - Passage-based factual questions requiring prior knowledge.

3. Legal aptitude (25%) - Test of critical thinking, identifying arguments and drawing inferences and conclusions, application of principles.

4. Logical aptitude (20%) - Test of critical thinking and problem solving, inference, and arguments.

5. Quantitative ability (10%) - Problem solving and basic maths.

Several questions based on comprehension passages, requiring interpretation and drawing conclusions, confused the students in CLAT 2025, either due to disputed answer options or incorrect answer options.

Even though these sections are objectively balanced. They often overlap in testing skills relevant in the profession. Fast English reading with comprehension is required in all five subjects, including fact-based current affairs and general knowledge, or mathematics.

Legal aptitude and logical aptitude skills

It is a widely recognised fact that the legal profession requires critical thinking, aptitude, and argumentative writing skills. LSAT and LNAT with one logical reasoning section; keep these skills at the core of their testing system.

But unlike LSAT or LNAT, CLAT splits critical thinking into two overlapping sections — Logical Reasoning and Legal Reasoning (with no requirement for prior legal knowledge). Both these sections test critical thinking, the ability to identify arguments, conclude or apply principles in a given fact situation.

National Law University, Delhi, which conducts a separate test, has removed the legal aptitude from the question paper recently. Instead, it says, Legal principles may be used in the logical reasoning section to test logical aptitude, but the examination does not require any kind of legal knowledge or technical understanding.

Current affairs and general knowledge

Current affairs remain relevant in the Indian context because they test the awareness of events of national and international importance. However, the general knowledge might be a misfit in the current pattern.

There are two problems with this pattern. One, it unnecessarily requires reading 400-450-word English passages before laying out the factual questions where prior knowledge is required.

Second, it promotes rote memorisation, a pervasive challenge in India’s education system, often criticised for hindering critical thinking and analytical reasoning.

Giving less importance to factual general knowledge should also align the exam with globally accepted test patterns.

Rationale for Maths

Maths carries just 10% weightage in CLAT. This subject also requires the students to read paragraphs and interpret data from tables and graphs, similar to some CSAT questions asked in the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE).

Maths helps in corporate law, and microeconomics, but isn’t a prerequisite in the majority of legal professions. There is a need to rethink this section. If data interpretation and problem solving are needed, they should be part of logical reasoning.

Should argumentative writing be a part of CLAT?

Writing skills, especially argumentative essay writing, are crucial in the legal education and profession. LSAT keeps an unscored section on writing and LNAT makes it a mandatory part of their testing system.

Indian law entrance exams have traditionally avoided testing writing skills. The law schools of Symbiosis International University (SIU) were conducting a writing ability test (WAT) until a few years back. They have removed the WAT section now, making the test patterns more objective and reading-heavy.

The 2019 CLAT introduced a writing test at the postgraduate level. But logistical challenges during pandemic years killed it. The consortium never revived it in later years.

There is also a problem with the writing test. If it is added to the pattern, manual evaluation of questions risks bias. The Committee must decide — if they revive the idea for CLAT PG, it should be with AI-assisted evaluation or let respective NLUs review it, as LSAC and LNAT do.

How should CLAT 2027 be framed?

The revamped CLAT pattern will:

1. Align the testing process with global benchmarks and the requirements of the legal profession.

2. It removes the need to mug up facts for the GK section.

3. Logical reasoning can accommodate the legal principle-based questions.

4. Current affairs gives the CLAT exam a more Indian context. Eventually, it should also be phased out.

Can CLAT be an Asian LSAT?

CLAT with the current pattern is framed in the context of Indian realities. It focuses on skills, but general knowledge and current affairs make it more Indian than Asian or a global admission test. It should be a broader goal to align the entrance testing with global benchmarks like LSAT and LNAT. But it will require doing away with factual content of current affairs from the question papers.

India vs World: How Law Admissions Work

Broader Imperative: Why This Reform Is Strategic

Although globalisation has brought foreign firms into almost every sector, the legal profession was untouched until the Bar Council of India amended its rules, allowing foreign law firms and lawyers to practice in India, on a reciprocal basis.

This is the beginning of legal profession in India becoming more liberal and open to opportunities. It will have implications for law firms, students and law schools in India. Law firms and lawyers will eventually compete with foreign law firms, and this would require a complete overhaul of legal education, starting from the screening process — CLAT.

In addition to the above, the NEP 2020 has opened the doors to foreign universities in India. Many of them, at the nascent stage, are starting with business management, finance and policy courses. In the coming years, they might be seen offering legal education in India. The CLAT exam, if reformed to meet global benchmarks, can also become a gateway to these universities.