Top Law Colleges in India 2026

India is home to over 1700 law schools in India which include a mix of government and private colleges. As per the NIRF law ranking 2025, NLSIU Bangalore is the best law college in India, followed by NLU Delhi, NALSAR Hyderabad, WBNUJS Kolkata and GNLU Gandhinagar. The list of top law colleges in India includes 13 NLUs, 16 private law schools, and 12 non-NLU government law colleges. Even though the list of top law schools in India is dominated by government institutions such as the NLUs, a majority of law colleges in India are private colleges.

Law colleges in India offer 5-year integrated LLB, 3-year LLB, LLM and PhD courses. These courses are approved by the Bar Council of India (BCI), the regulating body for legal education in the country. Looking at the overall scenario of law colleges in India, National Law Universities (NLUs) dominate the legal education scene, followed by some well-known private and state universities. The National Institutional Ranking Framework of the Ministry of Education lists the top law colleges in India.

Top Law Colleges in India Highlights

Particulars	Details
Types of Law Colleges in India	National Law Universities, Central University Departments, State University Departments, Private Universities and Law Colleges
Courses Offered	3-year LLB, 5-year LLB, LLM, PhD, Diploma in Law
Admission Process	Through law entrance exams and direct law admission without entrance exams
Law Entrance Exams	CLAT, AILET, SLAT, TS LAWCET
No. of Colleges in NIRF Rankings	40
Top Law College in India in NIRF Rankings	NLSIU Bengaluru

Top Law Colleges in India 2025: Latest News and Updates

The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) has commenced the CLAT 2026 application process on August 1, 2025. Interested and eligible candidates can complete the registration by visiting the official website: consortiumofnlus.ac.in. The last date to fill the CLAT 2026 application form is October 31, 2025.
The National Law University (NLU), Delhi has opened the AILET 2026 application form on August 7, 2025. Interested candidates can fill out the AILET application form 2026 by visiting the official website: nationallawuniversitydelhi.in. The deadline to complete the AILET 2026 registration is November 10, 2025.
Symbiosis International (Deemed) University has opened the SLAT 2026 application form on August 1, 2025. Candidates can complete SLAT 2026 registration online from the official website - slat-test.org. The last date to complete the SLAT 2026 registration is November 30, 2025.

Types of Law Colleges in India

Broadly, law colleges in India are divided into four types depending on the type of ownership and their revenue stream

National Law Universities: First, there are National Law Universities (NLUs) which are universities solely focused on providing legal education. NLUs are public institutions established under relevant acts passed by the legislative assembly of the state in which it is located. NLSIU Bengaluru, NLU Delhi, NALSAR Hyderabad, and WBNUJS Kolkata are among the best law universities in India.
Central Universities: Secondly, there are central universities that offer law courses. The central universities are established through an act passed by the parliament. The central universities are public institutions funded by the central government. Examples of central universities include Banaras Hindu University and Delhi University.
State Universities: Another type of government law college is state universities and state-funded colleges that offer law programmes. These are set up under relevant acts passed by state legislatures. Panjab University, Kurukshetra University, and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University are some examples of state universities offering legal education..
Private Law Colleges: The final type of college is private law colleges. The private law colleges in India are growing at a rapid pace. Since most of the private law colleges are not funded by the government, the academic fee charged by them tends to be higher than other colleges. SLS Pune, Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat, and Christ University, Bengaluru are some of the well-known private law colleges in India.

Approval and Accreditation of Law Colleges in India

Any discussion about the top law colleges in India must focus on the authority which is in charge of ensuring quality and the framework used to measure the quality. For legal education, that authority is the Bar Council of India (BCI). BCI prescribes the rules and regulations for legal education and professional conduct for lawyers and legal practitioners. BCI is the authority that grants approval for law courses in India. The BCI’s stamp is a necessary precondition for any institute to be counted among the best law colleges in India.

Another tool to ensure quality in legal education is the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). NIRF was launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development to rank educational institutions. This framework ranks the colleges after considering some broad parameters such as teaching, learning and resources, research and professional practices, graduation outcomes, outreach and inclusivity, and perception. As per the NIRF law rankings 2025, NLSIU Bengaluru is ranked number one among the top law colleges in India.

Inspection and Approval by BCI

The main purpose of inspection by BCI is to ensure a law institute has the required capacity to offer law courses as per the prescribed standards. When BCI inspects law colleges in India, the college authorities are expected to cooperate with the inspection committee and provide all the required data. The law college is also required to pay the required inspection fees.

The college inspection is done on two levels -

First, by calling for the required documentary evidence and supporting proofs for the facilities that the college claims to have.
Next, is by conducting field visits and carrying out a physical inspection of the college facilities.

Only after inspection, the college courses are approved. Besides, BCI also conducts periodic inspections as per the prescribed rules to ensure the college has the resources to continue providing legal education as per the prescribed standards. BCI also holds discussions with students and faculty members of the college to get feedback on various issues concerning the college.

National Institutional Ranking Framework

The National Institutional Ranking Framework was set up in 2015 by the Ministry of Human Resources Development with the objective of ranking educational institutes in the country. The NIRF rankings help us identify which are the best law schools in India. NIRF evaluates law colleges in India using the parameters given below. Each of these parameters has a different weightage.

Teaching, Learning and Resources: Teaching and learning resources have a 40% weight in the overall ranking of the institute. It includes student strength, student-faculty ratio, combined metric for faculty, and financial resources and their utilisation. This parameter focuses on the quality of academics and teaching imparted to students.
Research and Professional Practices: This parameter has a 15% weightage in the overall ranking. It evaluates factors such as combined metrics for publications and quality of publications, and the footprint of projects and Professional Practice. It seeks to measure the quality of the research environment of the institute.
Graduation Outcomes: The graduation outcome parameter focuses on the results achieved after completion of the law course It has a 25% weightage in the overall rankings. The factors considered for this parameter include Combined metrics for placement and higher Studies, metrics for college examinations, median salary offered to students, and the number of PhD students who graduated.
Outreach and inclusivity: The fourth criterion considered for NIRF ranking measures the outreach activities undertaken by the college and seeks to know how inclusive the campus is. It has a 10% weightage in the overall ranking. The factors considered for this parameter include the percentage of students from other states or countries, the percentage of women, the number of economically and socially challenged students and facilities for physically challenged students.
Perception: The fifth parameter is perception or the way an institute is viewed by employees and academic peers. This parameter has 10% weightage.

Top 10 Law Colleges in India: NIRF Law Rankings 2025

The table given below mentions the top 10 law colleges in India as per the NIRF rankings 2025. National Law University of India Bengaluru (NLSIU Bengaluru) is the best law school in India. The top 10 list is given below.

Top 10 Law Colleges in India by NIRF 2025 Ranking

Rank	Name	State	Score	Type
1	National Law School of India University, Bengaluru	Karnataka	82.97	Government
2	National Law University Delhi	Delhi	80.00	Government
3	NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad	Telangana	79.50	Government
4	The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata	West Bengal	79.39	Government
5	Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar	Gujarat	76.23	Government
6	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	West Bengal	74.09	Government
7	Symbiosis Law School, Pune	Maharashtra	74.07	Private
8	Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi	Delhi	66.39	Government
9	Aligarh Muslim University	Uttar Pradesh	65.82	Government
10	Siksha `O` Anusandhan, Bhubaneswar	Odisha	65.36	Private

Top NLUs in India: NIRF Ranking 2025

The table given below lists the best National Law Universities in India that have made it into the NIRF law rankings released by the Ministry of HRD. There are 13 NLUs ranked among the top law colleges in India as per the NIRF 2025 law rankings.

Top National Law Universities in India in NIRF Ranking 2025

Sl. no	Name	City	State	Score	Rank
1	National Law School of India University, Bengaluru	Bengaluru	Karnataka	82.97	1
2	National Law University, New Delhi	New Delhi	Delhi	80.00	2
3	NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad	Hyderabad	Telangana	79.50	3
4	The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata	Kolkata	West Bengal	79.39	4
5	Gujarat National Law University	Gandhinagar	Gujarat	76.23	5
6	National Law University, Cuttack	Cuttack	Odisha	63.66	15
7	Chanakya National Law University, Patna	Patna	Bihar	62.40	17
8	Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow	Lucknow	Uttar Pradesh	60.12	21
9	National Law Institute University, Bhopal	Bhopal	Madhya Pradesh	57.64	27
10	Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur	Nagpur	Maharashtra	56.54	28
11	National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi	Ranchi	Jharkhand	55.81	30
12	Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla	Shimla	Himachal Pradesh	53.49	34
13	National Law University and Judicial Academy, Kamrup	Kamrup	Assam	53.39	35

Best Private Law Colleges in India

There are several private law schools which are counted among the top private law colleges in India. They offer undergraduate and postgraduate law programmes which are on par with those offered by elite NLUs.

Top 10 Private Law Colleges in India

Sl. No	Name	City	State	Rank 2025	Score 2025
1	Symbiosis Law School	Pune	Maharashtra	7	74.07
2	Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan	Bhubaneswar	Odisha	10	65.36
3	SASTRA University	Thanjavur	Tamil Nadu	11	65.29
4	Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT)	Bhubaneswar	Odisha	14	65.04
5	UPES	Dehradun	Uttarakhand	18	61.45
6	Saveetha Institute of Medical & Technical Sciences	Chennai	Tamil Nadu	19	60.9
7	Alliance University	Bengaluru	Karnataka	20	60.83
8	Christ University	Bengaluru	Karnataka	24	58.4
9	SRM Institute of Science & Tech	Chennai	Tamil Nadu	25	58
10	Lovely Professional University	Phagwara	Punjab	26	57.98

Top Government Law Colleges in India (Non-NLUs)

The list of top law colleges in India also features several government law colleges, which are not National Law Universities. These non-NLU government colleges are also a popular option among students who are looking for affordable education alternatives to the more popular NLUs. The list is given below.

Best Non-NLU Government Law Colleges in India 2025

Sl. no	Name	City	State	Score	Rank
1	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Kharagpur	West Bengal	74.09	6
2	Jamia Millia Islamia	New Delhi	Delhi	66.39	8
3	Aligarh Muslim University	Aligarh	Uttar Pradesh	65.82	9
4	Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University	Lucknow	Uttar Pradesh	65.26	12
5	Cochin University of Science and Technology	Cochin	Kerala	65.19	13
6	Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology	Bhubaneswar	Odisha	65.04	14
7	Dr. B. R. Ambedkar College of Law	Visakhapatnam	Andhra Pradesh	63.12	16
8	Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University	Delhi	Delhi	60.05	22
9	Central University of South Bihar	Gaya	Bihar	58.84	23
10	University of Lucknow	Lucknow	Uttar Pradesh	55.85	29
11	ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education, Hyderabad	Hyderabad	Telangana	55.28	31
12	Central University of Punjab	Bathinda	Punjab	52.7	40

Location Wise Top Law Colleges in India 2025

The best law universities in India are spread across different parts of the country. The table given below provides location-wise top law schools in India.

Location Wise Best Law Universities in India

Location	North	East	West	South
College	NLU Delhi JMI Delhi BBAU Lucknow AMU Aligarh LPU Jalandhar RGNUL Patia	WBNUJS Kolkata Siksha 'O'Anusandhan Bhubaneswar NLUJA Assam KIIT Bhubaneswar	SLS Pune GNLU Gandhinagar MNLU Mumbai GLC Mumbai NIRMA University Ahmedabad NLU Jodhpur	NLSIU Bengaluru NALSAR Hyderabad Christ University, Bengaluru Alliance University, Bengaluru

Placements Records of Top Law Colleges in India 2025

One of the deciding factors that makes a college better than others is the campus placements. The best law colleges in India stand out from the rest in terms of their placement figures. NLUs placements are often eagerly awaited every year. The number of students placed is often high, and so is the salary package offered to them. The table given below describes the median salary figures for the best law colleges in India.

Top 10 Law Colleges in India - Median Salary Offered During Placements

Rank	Name	Median Salary Package for UG programmes	Median Salary Package for PG programmes
1	National Law School of India University, Bengaluru	Rs. 16 lakhs per annum (UG 5-year)	Rs. 7 lakhs per annum (PG 1-year)
2	National Law University Delhi	Rs. 18 lakhs per annum (UG 5-year)	Rs. 10.68 lakhs per annum (PG 1-year)
3	NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad	Rs. 17.50 lakhs per annum (UG 5-year)	Rs. 7.80 lakhs per annum (PG 1-year)
4	The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata	Rs. 20 lakhs per annum (UG 5-year)	Rs. 10 lakhs per annum (PG 1-year)
5	Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar	Rs. 18 lakhs per annum (UG 5-year)	Rs. 6.20 lakhs per annum (PG 1-year)
6	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Rs. 15 lakhs per annum (UG 3-year)	Rs. 8 lakhs per annum (PG 2-year)
7	Symbiosis Law School, Pune	Rs. 12 lakhs per annum (UG 3-year) Rs. 18 lakhs per annum (UG 5-year)	Rs. 12 lakhs per annum (PG 1-year)
8	Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi	Rs. 8.40 lakhs per annum (UG 5-year)	Rs. 14.40 lakhs per annum (PG 2-year)
9	Aligarh Muslim University	Rs. 12.50 lakhs per annum (UG 5-year)	Rs. 10.52 lakhs per annum (PG 2-year)
10	Siksha `O` Anusandhan, Bhubaneswar	Rs. 5.40 lakhs per annum (UG 3-year) Rs. 5.40 lakhs per annum (UG 5-year)	Rs. 5.40 lakhs per annum (PG 1-year)

Recruiters at Top Law Colleges in India

College Name	Companies
NLSIU Bengaluru	Deutsche Bank, KPMG; Deloitte, ICICI Bank, AZB & Partners, Khaitan & Co, L&L Partners, Argus Partners, Societe Generale
NLU Delhi	Herbert Smith Freehills, Luthra & Luthra, Agarwal Law Associates, Bajaj Finance, AZB & Partners.
NALSAR Hyderabad	Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Axis Bank, HCL Technologies, ICICI Bank, S&R Associates, Luthra & Luthra, Vedanta. Khaitan.
WBNUJS Kolkata	Herbert Smith, Saha & Ray, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Trilegal, L&L Partners, AZB & Partners
SLS Pune	HDFC Ergo, JM Financial, JSW Steel, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, ICICI Prudential

Top Law Colleges in India - Eligibility Criteria

It must be noted that the eligibility criteria prescribed by each college may vary from each other. However, in general, colleges follow the eligibility criteria as given below for admission into various law programs. Often, applicants must also score a minimum required percentage in the qualifying examination to be eligible to apply.

Eligibility criteria for pursuing LLB from top law colleges in India

Particulars	Details
5-year LLB	10+2 pass. Students appearing for Class 12 exams can also apply. Candidates must obtain the minimum prescribed marks in the qualifying exam.
3-year LLB	Graduation in any stream. Final-year students can also apply. Candidates must obtain the minimum prescribed marks in the qualifying exam.
LLM	Passed 3-year LLB or 5-year LLB. Final-year students can also apply. Candidates must obtain the minimum prescribed marks in the qualifying exam.
PhD	LLM. Any other requirement prescribed by the concerned law college.

Entrance Exams Accepted By Top Law Colleges in India 2025

More often than not, candidates have to appear for law entrance exams to gain admission into some of the best law universities in India. Some of the popular entrance exams are mentioned below

Entrance Exams for Best Law Schools in India

Exam Name	Details
CLAT	The Consortium of NLUs conducts the Common Law Admission Test for admission into 5-year integrated LLB and LLM programmes.
AILET	NLU Delhi conducts the All India Law Entrance Test for admission into its BA LLB and LLM programmes.
SLAT	The Symbiosis International (Deemed University) conducts the Symbiosis Law Admission Test for admission into 5-year LLB programmes of the four Symbiosis Law Schools at Pune, Noida, Hyderabad and Nagpur.
CUET Law	The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the CUET Law exam for admission into UG and PG law programmes of participating central, state and private universities in India.
TS LAWCET	TGCHE conducts the Telangana State Law Common Entrance Test, through which candidates are admitted into 5-year LLB and 3-year LLB programmes of participating colleges in Telangana.
AP LAWCET	APSCHE conducts the Andhra Pradesh Law Common Entrance Test for admissions into 3-year LLB and 5-year LLB programmes of participating law colleges in Andhra Pradesh.
KLEE	CEE Kerala conducts the Kerala Law Entrance Examination for admissions into 3-year LLB, 5-year LLB and LLM programmes of colleges in Kerala.
MH CET Law	CET Cell Maharashtra conducts the Maharashtra State Common Entrance Test Law for admissions into 3-year LLB, 5-year LLB and LLM programmes of colleges in Maharashtra.

Entrance Exam Dates for Top Law Colleges in India

Candidates can check the dates for top law entrance exams through which candidates can gain admission into the top law colleges in the country. Click on the links given in the table below to check the exam schedule.

Exam Name	Dates
CLAT	CLAT Schedule
AILET	AILET Schedule
MH CET Law	MH CET Law Schedule
TS LAWCET	TS LAWCET Schedule
AP LAWCET	AP LAWCET Schedule
SLAT	SLAT Schedule
CUET Law	CUET Law Schedule

Top Law Colleges in India 2025: Course fees

The LLB course fees in India vary according to the type of college one enrols on. Fees at private law colleges and top National Law Universities tend to be high. However, government colleges and central and state universities have lower fees.

The fees at top law universities in India are between Rs. 2-4 lakhs p.a. NLSIU Bengaluru charges the highest fees among NLUs. Its BA LLB and LLM fee is around 4.10 lakhs p.a. Well-known private law colleges charge anywhere between 2 lakhs p.a. to 9 lakhs p.a. Fees at SLS Pune is around 4.15 lakh p.a. On the other hand, LLB fees at Jindal Global Law School are around 9 lakhs p.a. The LLB fees in government, colleges and universities are usually very low when compared to NLUs and private law colleges in India. The LLB fee is around 5000 p.a in Government Law College Mumbai.

Fees at Best Law Schools in India

College Name	UG Fees (approximate)	PG Fees (approximate)
NLSIU Bengaluru	Rs. 4.10 lakhs per annum	Rs. 4.10 lakhs per annum
NLU Delhi	Rs. 3.80 lakhs per annum	Rs. 2.47 lakhs per annum
NALSAR Hyderabad	Rs. 2.70 lakhs per annum	Rs. 1.75 lakhs per annum
WBNUJS Kolkata	Rs. 3.85 lakhs per annum	Rs. 2.72 lakhs per annum
SLS Pune	Rs. 4.73 lakhs per annum.	Rs. 1.83 lakhs per annum
KIIT Bhubaneswar	Rs. 4.10 lakhs per annum	Rs. 2.75 lakhs per annum
GNLU Gandhinagar	Rs. 2.58 lakhs per annum	Rs. 2.62 lakhs per annum
Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi	Rs. 10,400 per annum	Rs. 8,700 per annum
IIT Kharagpur	Rs. 1 lakh per annum	Rs. 1.40 lakhs per annum
GLC Mumbai	Rs. 5,000 per annum	-
Christ University, Bengaluru	Rs. 2.05 lakhs per annum	Rs. 1.45 lakhs per annum

Top Specialisations Offered by Best Law Colleges in India

The top law schools in India offer the opportunity to specialise in various law subjects. The specialisation options in law are available to LLB students in the form of elective subjects. In the LLM programmes, students also get the opportunity to specialise in their chosen interest area.

Best Law Universities in India: Popular Law Specialisations

Sl. NO	Specialisation
1	Taxation Law
2	Constitutional Law
3	Criminal Law
4	Corporate Law
5	Family Law
6	Environmental Law
7	Intellectual Property Law
8	Labour Law
9	Cyber Law
10	Civil Law

Mirza Farhan Baig

Updated on 12 Sep 2025, 10:26 AM IST

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