CLAT Application Date:01 Aug' 25 - 31 Oct' 25
Among many anomalies in the NIRF Law rankings 2025, the one that stands out is the National Law Institute University’s overall rank and score. It dropped by six positions from last year, from 21st in 2024 to 27th in the latest ranking, despite retaining its reputation among students and employers.
NIRF ranks several lesser-known law institutions, such as Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Central University of South Bihar, Babasheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, much higher than NLIU. Yet, the university is the sixth most preferred law university among students. NLIU Bhopal BA LLB admissions close below All India Rank (AIR) 500 in the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), one of the most widely accepted law entrance exams in the country.
The placements at NLIU tell the employers’ side of the story. The placement report of NLIU, an indicator of employers' preference, reveals that the university is certainly more preferred over several law schools ranked higher in NIRF.
The recruiters at NLIU include Tier 1 law firms such as Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Trilegal, Khaitan & Co. and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. These firms have consistently recruited associates/junior associates from the university. The median salary over three years, which NIRF used for its ranking, remains between Rs. 18 LPA and Rs. 16 LPA, with a placement percentage ranging from 61% to 44%.
Graduation Year | Students Graduating in Minimum Stipulated Time | Students Placed | Median Salary |
2022-23 | 108 | 60 | Rs.18 LPA |
2023-24 | 120 | 45 | Rs.16 LPA |
2024-25 | 113 | 48 | Rs.16 LPA |
Below, we have listed six law schools ranked higher than NLIU. The median salary in these ranges from Rs. 5 LPA to Rs. 7 LPA, significantly lower than that of NLIU. Some of these institutions have achieved a higher placement percentage by showing non-placed students in the higher studies section.
Law institute | Median salary in placement | Placement percentage | NIRF Rank |
Shiksha ‘O’ Anusandhan | Rs. 5.4 LPA | 90-95% | 10 |
Shanmugha Arts Science Technology & Research Academy | Rs. 4.5 LPA to Rs. 5.6 LPA | 98-99% | 11 |
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences | Rs. 5,78 LPA - Rs. 6.15 LPA | 33-44% | 19 |
CUSB Bihar | Rs. 7.20 LPA to Rs. 6.80 LPA | 100-96% | 23 |
Lovely Professional University | Rs. 8.2 LPA to Rs. 5 LPA | 11-12% | 26 |
Take a look at NLIU’s NIRF score breakdown below.
TLR (100) | RPC (100) | GO (100) | OI (100) | PERCEPTION (100) |
61.44 | 26.47 | 74.41 | 67.56 | 37.38 |
If we compare this data with other law schools ranked higher than NLIU, two issues are prominently noticeable:
Low score in Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR)
Very weak perception score, 37.38 out of 100.
Ranked #18 amongst Institutions in India by NIRF | Ranked #1 in India for Academic Reputation by QS Rankings | 16 LPA Highest CTC
Ranked 1 st among Top Law Schools of super Excellence in India - GHRDC | NAAC A+ Accredited | #36 by NIRF
While the other peers of NLIU Bhopal take the first five positions in Teaching and Learning Resources (TLR), the university falls miserably with a score of 61.44/100. It is 35th in TLR among 40 law schools ranked by NIRF.
NLIU Bhopal’s comparison with other Tier 1 NLUs reveals that all have similar scores in student strength, ranging from 15 to 17.
A further breakdown of the NLIU’s TLR score and its comparison with the top five NLU shows the university's struggle with the Faculty-Student Ratio (FSR). NLIU scored just 17.02 out of 30 in FSR; the top 5 NLUs and several private law schools score 30 out of 30.
Over the past five years, the university has increased the intake in UG/PG programmes. It also came up with a new course — BSc LLB (Cyber Law) through CLAT. However, the faculty strength has largely remained stagnant, raising concerns over teaching quality.
Year | Faculty strength | Total students |
2025 | 43 | 981 |
2024 | 44 | 846 |
2023 | 43 | 780 |
2022 | 34 | 758 |
2021 | 34 | 772 |
NLUs | FSR score (out of 30) | Faculty | Students (UG & PG) | Overall TLR Score |
NLSIU Bangalore | 30 | 150 | 964 | 91.35 |
NLU Delhi | 30 | 174 | 661 | 87.17 |
NALSAR Hyderabad | 30 | 105 | 818 | 88.70 |
WBNUJS Kolkata | 30 | 66 | 814 | 87.75 |
GNLU Gandhinagar | 30 | 72 | 1073 | 86.99 |
NLIU Bhopal | 17 | 43 | 981 | 61.44 |
NLIU’s score of 37 out of 100 in perception is surprisingly lower than some lesser-known, costly private institutions with placements between Rs. 4 Lakh and Rs. 7 Lakh. NIRF does not explain why the university was given such a low perception score.
The ranking framework gives 10% weightage to a survey-based peer perception in the Law category. Professionals from reputed organisations and academics give their preferences to different institutes.
While the data is not disclosed, the scores have the potential to impact the rankings. And, when popular institutes like NLIU Bhopal and CNLU Patna are given low scores, it raises questions about the transparency in the framework.
Name | Perception (100) | Overall NIRF Score | Rank |
National Law School of India University | 100 | 82.97 | 1 |
National Law University | 92.05 | 80 | 2 |
NALSAR University of Law | 77.54 | 79.5 | 3 |
The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences | 67.5 | 79.39 | 4 |
National Law University Cuttack | 59.91 | 63.66 | 15 |
Gujarat National Law University | 52.47 | 76.23 | 5 |
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow | 52.47 | 60.12 | 21 |
National Law Institute University, Bhopal | 37.38 | 57.64 | 27 |
Name | Perception (100) | Overall NIRF Score | Rank |
UPES | 68.74 | 61.45 | 18 |
Siksha `O` Anusandhan | 60.66 | 65.36 | 10 |
Jamia Millia Islamia | 49.67 | 66.39 | 8 |
Christ University | 45.6 | 58.4 | 24 |
Aligarh Muslim University | 45.6 | 65.82 | 9 |
S.R.M. Institute of Science and Technology | 44.52 | 58 | 25 |
Shanmugha Arts Science Technology & Research Academy | 41.1 | 65.29 | 11 |
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University | 41.1 | 60.05 | 22 |
In the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), NLIU Bhopal can be put together with GNLU Gandhinagar in student preferences. The cut-offs indicate that both GNLU Gandhinagar and NLIU Bhopal close their BA LLB admissions between CLAT AIR 450 and 480. This trend has remained largely consistent over the past four to five years.
The universities preferred over NLIU or GNLU are NLSIU, NALSAR, NUJS and NLU Jodhpur. Together, these six NLUs are informally considered Tier 1 law schools. The success rate in CLAT for these NLUs remains less than 1% general category students.
NLUs | Closing Rank in 2025 | Closing rank in 2024 | NIRF Ranking 2025 |
NLSIU Bengaluru | 112 | 102 | 1 |
NALSAR Hyderabad | 159 | 167 | 3 |
WBNUJS Kolkata( BA LLB) | 327 | 279 | 4 |
NLU Jodhpur | 367 | 379 | No participation |
GNLU Gandhinagar | 444 | 464 | 5 |
NLIU Bhopal (BA LLB) | 480 | 450 | 27 |
RMLNLU Lucknow | 780 | 764 | 21 |
HNLU Raipur | 807 | 791 | No participation |
RGNUL Patiala | 1279 | 1250 | Participated – Not ranked |
NUALS Kochi | 1346 | 1136 | Participated – Not ranked |
CNLU Patna (BA LLB) | 1398 | 1358 | 17 |
While the university must address the concerns around the faculty-student ratio, the NIRF ranking falls short in recognising its strong placements and students’ preferences. The gap between student/recruiter preference and NIRF law rankings exposes the flaws in the ranking system.
Students over-relying on NIRF might end up missing out on quality law schools in favour of lesser-known but higher-ranked institutions. Therefore, the NIRF rankings should be read with caution. It is recommended to consider reading the actual placement reports, faculty-student ratio, CLAT cut-offs and other such factors before making any assessment.
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
For CLAT PG 2026 application :
Photograph: JPEG/JPG, 200x230 pixels, 20–50 KB, white/light background, recent passport-size photo.
Signature: JPEG/JPG, 140x60 pixels, 10–20 KB, sign on white paper with black ink, must match exam documents.
Hope it helps !
Hi dear candidate,
On our official website, you can find various study material EBooks and Sample Papers that can help you prepare better that you can download for free.
Kindly refer to the link attached below:
CLAT E-books and Sample Papers
CLAT Study Material 2026 PDF - Books, Mock Test, Question Papers
BEST REGARDS
Hello,
While NLUs are costly, you can still pursue government-funded law education through state-funded universities and their affiliated colleges that accept CLAT scores, such as institutes like Banaras Hindu University and Aligarh Muslim University.
I hope it will clear your query!!
It is always better to take the CLAT exam right after Class 12 if your goal is to build a career in law, because CLAT UG is specifically designed for admission into integrated five-year law programs like BA LLB, BCom LLB, or BBA LLB. Appearing after Class 12 saves you time, as you complete both graduation and law together in a single course. On the other hand, if you first complete graduation and then plan for law, you will not be eligible for CLAT UG but instead for CLAT PG, which is meant for admission into LLM programs. This path takes longer, because you first spend three or four years on graduation and then add another three years in an LLB program if you choose not to go for an integrated course. So, if you are already sure about pursuing law as your career, writing CLAT right after Class 12 is the smarter and time-saving option, while writing it after graduation makes sense only if you are considering higher studies in law or a shift in career later.
For CLAT, the most important topics are from Legal Reasoning, Current Affairs & GK, the Indian Constitution, English Language, Quantitative Techniques and Logical Reasoning. For a brief detail you can go through the following link: https://law.careers360.com/articles/clat-important-topics
Thank You.
Ranked #18 amongst Institutions in India by NIRF | Ranked #1 in India for Academic Reputation by QS Rankings | 16 LPA Highest CTC
Grade 'A+' accredited by NAAC | Ranked 33rd by NIRF 2025
NAAC A+ Grade | Among top 100 universities of India (NIRF 2024) | 40 crore+ scholarships distributed
India's youngest NAAC A++ accredited University | NIRF rank band 151-200 | Approved by Bar Council of India
Ranked 1 st among Top Law Schools of super Excellence in India - GHRDC | NAAC A+ Accredited | #36 by NIRF
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