Ranked Low, Preferred High: The NLIU Bhopal Contradiction in NIRF 2025 Rankings

NIRF vs Students

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.

Placements: The Employers' Preference

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%.

NLIU Placements in Three Years

Placements at Higher-Ranked Law Schools

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 School Placements: NLIU vs Other Law Schools

What goes wrong with NLIU?

Take a look at NLIU’s NIRF score breakdown below.

If we compare this data with other law schools ranked higher than NLIU, two issues are prominently noticeable:

1. Low score in Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR)

2. Very weak perception score, 37.38 out of 100.

The Weak Link: Teaching, Learning and Resources

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.

Increased intake, Faculty strength stagnant?

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.

NLIU Bhopal Faculty Strength vs Intake in 5 Years

NLIU vs Other Top NLUs in FSR: NIRF 2025

NLIU’s Perception: A methodological flaw?

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.

NLIU vs Other Top NLUs in Perception

Non-NLUs Better in Perception Than NLIU Bhopal

NLIU’s Student Perception: The CLAT Metric

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.

NLU Preferences among students through CLAT

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.