Top 5 NLUs in India: Get detailed insights by ranking, placements & cut-offs
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Top 5 NLUs in India: Get detailed insights by ranking, placements & cut-offs

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CLAT Application Date:01 Aug' 25 - 31 Oct' 25

Shubham BhakuniUpdated on 16 Sep 2025, 11:31 AM IST

Top 5 NLUs in India: The National Law Universities (NLUs) are considered the premier law schools in India. Candidates appearing in CLAT 2026, or aspiring to take admission to NLUs are required to give admission preferences at the time of CLAT counselling registration. However, choosing an NLU can be tricky, as students often wonder if all NLUs offer similar learning opportunities and placements. A closer look at the overall performance of NLUs, including their rankings, placements, achievements, and alumni records reveals some of them doing exceptionally well in all parameters, some are in the middle range, while many of them are in their initial years lacking legacy and recognition.

This Story also Contains

  1. National Law Universities in India
  2. Top 5 NLUs in India
  3. Top 5 NLUs in Placements
Top 5 NLUs in India: Get detailed insights by ranking, placements & cut-offs
Top 5 NLUs in India

While students appearing in the Common Law Admission Test should consider all factors before giving admission preferences to NLUs, their ranking and placement records hold the utmost importance. This article lists the top 5 NLUs in different parameters including overall ranking, placements and student preferences.

National Law Universities in India

Unlike many other central universities, which are national for having central government funding, NLUs are state universities despite their name giving an appearance of national character. NLUs, essentially educational institutions for the judiciary, have been created as part of the second generation of legal reforms. The Chief Justices of various states act as Vice Chancellor of the NLUs. The Chief Justice of India is the vice Chancellor of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, the oldest among all NLUs.

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As of 2025, there are 26 NLUs in India, spread across 22 states and union territories, New Delhi and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. These NLUs offer 5-year integrated LLB and LLM programmes. NLSIU Bangalore, NLU Odisha, and CNLU Patna are the only NLUs that offer 3-year LLB. Some NLUs have become multidisciplinary in recent years, and they offer various other programmes such as MBA, and Master in Public Policy in addition to law programmes.

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Top 5 NLUs in India

The Tier 1 NLUs are generally considered good in all aspects and have been ranked in top positions in various law school rankings. Considering there are many parameters in every ranking framework, we are taking a government-recognised ranking framework, NIRF law ranking 2025, and Careers360 ranking of law schools, along with other crucial data such as placements and cut-offs.

Top 5 NLUs in NIRF Ranking 2025

The NIRF top NLUs have consistently performed well in all of its parameters. Among the CLAT accepting NLUs, 16 private law colleges are ranked in NIRF law ranking 2025. Only NLU Delhi conducts a separate All India Law Entrance Test (AILET). The top five law colleges as per NIRF 2025 are given below.

Top 5 NLUs in NIRF 2025

Name of NLU

NIRF Ranking 2025

NIRF Score

NLSIU Bangalore

1

82.97

NLU Delhi

2

80.00

NALSAR Hyderabad

3

79.50

WBNUJS Kolkata

4

79.39

GNLU Gandhinagar

5

76.23

Top 5 NLUs in Careers360 Rankings 2025

Careers360 releases ranking for law schools in India annually. All the top five positions in the Careers360 law school ranking are secured by national law universities (NLUs). Here are the top 5 NLUs as per the Careers360 ranking of top law schools.

Top 5 NLUs as per Careers360 Law School Ranking

NLU

Careers360 rank

NLSIU Bangalore

1

NLU Delhi

2

NALSAR Hyderabad

3

WBNUJS Kolkata

4

GNLU Gandhinagar

5

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Top 5 NLUs in Placements

The placement data is one of the most important parameters to know if the course offered by the NLUs is relevant for the industry and whether law firms and corporations are participating in the campus placement drives. NLUs organise placements from the 5th semester onwards for 5-year integrated LLB programmes. The median package secured by students in the NLU placement ranges from Rs. 14 Lakh to Rs. 20 Lakh for the top 5 NLUs. The 2019-20 batch of WBNUJS Kolkata secured a median salary of Rs. 20 lakhs in the placement drive. This was the highest median salary offered in NLUs in the last three to four years. The top 5 NLUs based on placements are given below.

Top 5 NLUs Based on Placements


Placement year

Law College Name

2024

2023

2022

2021

NLSIU Bangalore

Rs. 16 Lakhs

Rs. 16 Lakhs

Rs. 16 Lakhs

Rs. 15 Lakhs

NLU Delhi

Rs. 18 Lakhs

Rs. 14 Lakhs

Rs. 19 Lakhs

Rs. 18 Lakhs

NALSAR Hyderabad

Rs. 17.50 Lakhs

Rs. 16 Lakhs

Rs. 16 Lakhs

Rs. 16 Lakhs

WBNUJS Kolkata

Rs. 20 Lakhs

Rs. 20 Lakhs

Rs. 16 Lakhs

Rs. 15 Lakhs

GNLU Gandhinagar

Rs. 18 Lakhs

Rs. 16 Lakhs

Rs. 15.40 Lakhs

Rs. 14 Lakhs

NLU Odisha

Rs. 14 Lakhs Rs. 14.50 Lakhs Rs. 9 Lakhs Rs. 6 Lakhs

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Top 5 NLUs by Admission Preferences

Where do the top-ranked students go in the CLAT exam? The CLAT cut-offs provide insights into the top NLUs in admission preferences given by top-performing students. The previous five to six years of CLAT cut-off data shows consistency in this respect. The previous year's cut-offs for NLUs given below will help the prospective students understand this.

Top 5 NLUs by Cut-Offs


NLU

Cut-off rank for General category
2025

2024

2023

NLSIU Bangalore

112

102

114

NALSAR Hyderabad

159

167

177

WBNUJS Kolkata

327

279

260

NLU Jodhpur

367

379

383

NLU Bhopal

480

450

463

GNLU Gandhinagar

444

464

462

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Questions related to CLAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CLAT ?

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.

Hi dear candidate,

Both the colleges Maharaja Agrasen (MAIMS) or Gitarattan (GIBS) are affiliated to IP University and allows admission either by CLAT or IPU CET Law. Without either of these exams, your admission is NOT accepted there. You can try looking for management quota seats in these colleges if you have got good marks in 12th class.

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Hi dear candidate,

You can easily register yourself for CLAT exam by visiting the Consortium of NLUs official website and follow these steps:

  • Register yourself with your EMail ID, phone number and password.
  • Log in using OTP
  • Complete application form by entering details, selecting program (UG/PG) and uploading required documents mentioned there.
  • Then at last, review the application and pay the registration fees.
  • Download your confirmation slip.

Know the complete process at:

CLAT Registration 2026 (Started): Documents Required, Application Fee, Link, Steps to Apply

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