The Common Law Admission Test for Postgraduates CLAT PG 2026 is a key exam for those who want to pursue higher education in law or secure jobs in Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) in India. It is designed for candidates who have completed their Bachelor of Laws (LLB) with at least 50% marks. CLAT PG opens doors to postgraduate law programs at National Law Universities (NLUs) and legal roles in PSUs. The exam focuses on testing not just your legal knowledge but also your ability to read and understand legal texts. Like the undergraduate version of the exam, the CLAT PG 2021 Question Paper is based on reading comprehension. You will be given passages from important legal sources, such as court decisions, laws, or regulations, followed by objective-type questions. There is no age limit for the exam, making it accessible to all eligible law graduates who wish to advance in their legal careers.
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| CLAT PG Question Paper 2021 | Download PDF |
You may also check the previous year's question paper with detailed solutions:
There were 20 passages in total, covering various law subjects, with some combining Constitutional and Environmental Law or Constitutional and International Human Rights Law. This time, only one passage was based on Jurisprudence, which is considered an important subject for the exam.
The overall difficulty of the paper was moderate to easy. Fewer questions were based on cases, with most focusing on concepts, aiming to test the legal understanding of CLAT aspirants.
Last year, in CLAT 2020, most of the questions were based on recent judgments, with only a few conceptual questions. However, this time, the CLAT Consortium changed its strategy, including more conceptual and topic-based questions.
The cutoff for the CLAT PG 2021 examination was 90+ for the top 3 NLUs.
Around 35 questions were from Constitutional Law, which is undoubtedly the most important subject in the CLAT PG Exams, carrying the highest weightage of 60 marks.
The paper was surprising, with the maximum number of questions, after those on the Indian Constitution, being from the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Constitutional law- The CLAT PG Question Paper included 35 questions on Constitutional Law, with a moderate level of difficulty. An ideal score for this section would be around 25, reflecting a solid understanding of constitutional principles and key cases.
Jurisprudence- In the Jurisprudence section, there were 12 relatively easy questions. A well-prepared candidate should aim for a score of 10 in this section, demonstrating a strong grasp of the foundational theories and concepts in law.
Law of Contract- The Law of Contract section also featured 12 questions and was considered easy. An ideal score of 10 indicates a good command of contract law, including key principles and case law.
Family Law- There were twelve questions in the exam covering family law, all of moderate complexity. A target score of eight would be a fair objective, demonstrating a strong grasp of family law topics and their applications.
Criminal law- There were thirty questions in all, all of moderate difficulty, in the Criminal Law portion. Achieving a score of 24 would demonstrate a thorough understanding of criminal law principles, including significant legislation and cases.
Company law- There were six easy-level questions in the section on company law. A perfect score of four would indicate a solid comprehension of the rules and concepts of corporation law.
Public International Law- There were twelve rather difficult questions in the Public International Law portion. A score of 10, which denotes a thorough understanding of international law and its applications, would be a reasonable goal.
Environmental law- Finally, there were six moderately tough questions in the Environmental Law portion. A score of four would indicate that one has a fair grasp of environmental law, covering important legislation and case law.
In jurisprudence, distinction between theoretical and practical aspects of law is the basis of an independent science of law, the purpose of which is not to subserve practical ends but to serve pure knowledge, which is concerned with facts but not with words. At the present time, the juristic science is an exclusively a practical science of law and adequate methods have been evolved for the application of law by the judges. The result of this situation is that its teaching on the subject of law and legal relations, subject matter and method, can be given only by the practical science of law. It aims to supply the judge with legal propositions, formulated in the most general terms possible, in order that the greatest possible number of decisions might be derived from them. It teaches the judge how to apply the general propositions to the specific cases. However, the human thinking is necessarily dominated by the underlying purpose and the thinking of the jurist is conditioned by the practical purposes pursued by juristic science. The jurist does not mean by law that which lives and is operative in human society as law, but law exclusively important in the administration of justice as a rule according to which the judges must decide the legal disputes. However, juristic science as a whole proceeds by abstractions and deductions but sometimes loses contact with reality. The rule of human conduct and the rule according to which the judges decide legal disputes may be distinct; a layman does not always act according to the rules which the judges apply for the judicial decisions as the rules to guide human conduct. However, the scientific view has given way to the practical view, adapted to the requirements of the judicial officials according to which they must proceed, but they arrive at this view by a jump in their personal thinking. They mean that the rules according to which courts decide are the rules according to which men ought to regulate their conduct. In this respect it is altogether different from true science. It is true that that judicial decisions influence the conduct of men, but we must first of all inquire to what extent this is true and upon what circumstances it depends.
1. The purpose of the 'science of law' is to achieve
(A) Practical aspects for human conduct.
(B) Idealistic judicial abstractions.
(C) Pure knowledge based on reality.
(D) Judicial purpose.
Explanation- The passage suggests that purpose of ‘science of law’ is to achieve Pure knowledge based on reality including facts, without extensively tying it to the reality.
2. The prevailing method of the practical science of law is the method which is $\qquad$
(A) Employed by judges for application of law.
(B) Indicated in law books.
(C) Abstraction of social mind.
(D) Legal optimism.
Explanation - The passage suggests that the prevailing method of the practical science of law is the method employed by judges for the application of law. This aligns with the idea that adequate methods have been evolved for the application of law by judges.
3. The judicial thinking is prominently guided by
(A) Underlying principles of judicial morality.
(B) Principles of professional ethics.
(C) Practical purposes followed by judicial science.
(D) Classical theories of justice.
Explanation- The passage indicates that judicial thinking is conditioned by the practical purposes pursued by juristic science.
4. The present juristic science is losing scientific temperament, because the $\qquad$ Which of the following is the most appropriate answer?
(A) Judges are not professionally trained.
(B) Judicial abstractions and deductions are different from reality.
(C) Practical purposes followed by judicial science.
(D) Notions for the judicial decisions are inferred from the decision of foreign courts.
Explanation - The passage indicates that juristic science, by proceeding with abstractions and deductions, sometimes loses contact with reality, which implies a loss of scientific temperament
5. The legal propositions are generally based on $\qquad$
(A) Generalised possibility.
(B) Exclusivity.
(C) Social interest.
(D) Political interest.
Explanation- It is evident from the passage that legal propositions are generally based on generalized possibility
6. The judicial expectation from a layman is that
(A) The conduct of man ought to be humane.
(B) The conduct of man ought to be prudent.
(C) The conduct of man be based on rules decided by courts.
(D) The conduct of man be based on moral and ethical parameters.
Explanation- The passage indicates that the judicial expectation is that the conduct of man should be based on rules decided by courts.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
In CLAT 2024, 50 out of 120 is regarded as below ordinary.
Yes, it is feasible to pass CLAT without tutoring if you are properly prepared with a proper study plan and competent counsel.
Additionally, general knowledge was mediocre with a few unexpected subjects. Legal was moderately long, but not very long. It was moderately long overall.
The CLAT UG test will consist of 120 questions, with candidates receiving one mark for each right answer, for a total of 120 marks.
The overall level of difficulty was moderate and lengthy. The most extensive and time-consuming component is Legal Reasoning. The easiest section is English Language.
On Question asked by student community
Hello there,
Having a 15000 general rank and 1740 as your SC category rank, your chances of securing a seat are very low. As per the previous trends, it is a direct no for you to get into the top-tier NLUs since the closing general rank is around 1500-3000. If
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,
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
Hello,
Here is your CLAT 2026 Rank-Wise College List - Available NLUs in your rank range. I am providing you the link. Kindly open and check it out.
https://law.careers360.com/articles/clat-2026-rank-wise-college-list
I hope it will help you. For any further query please let me know.
Thank you.
The clat pg 2025 first allotment list for tamil nadu national law university (tnnlu), tiruchirappalli, was officially released on may 26, 2025. according to the first round seat allotment results for the pg (llm) program, the all india closing rank for the general category at nlu trichy was 1,290. for
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