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    Top NLUs Ranked by CLAT Cutoffs, Not NIRF – The Real Tier List You Need
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    • Top NLUs Ranked by CLAT Cutoffs, Not NIRF – The Real Tier List You Need

    Top NLUs Ranked by CLAT Cutoffs, Not NIRF – The Real Tier List You Need

    Sansar Singh ChhikaraUpdated on 25 Sep 2025, 05:38 PM IST

    When it comes to ranking NLUs, the NIRF Law ranking is the most popular ranking framework. Every year, NIRF ranks law colleges based on four parameters - Teaching, Learning & Resources (TLR), Research and Professional Practice (RP), Graduation Outcomes (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (OI), and Perception (PR). However, students have observed many anomalies. For instance, the 6th most preferred law school, NLIU Bhopal, is ranked 27th in NIRF, below Central University of South Bihar, Jamia Millia Islamia, RMLNLU Lucknow, Saveetha Institute of Medical Sciences, etc.

    Top NLUs Ranked by CLAT Cutoffs, Not NIRF – The Real Tier List You Need
    Top NLUs Ranked by CLAT Cutoffs, Not NIRF

    On the contrary, when you look at the cutoffs of NLIU Bhopal over the years and placement statistics, it can be said that NLIU Bhopal is a tier 1 NLU. Furthermore, MNLU Mumbai, RGNUL Patiala, and NUALS Kochi were not even included in the NIRF Law rankings 2025. Instances like these make students not trust the NIRF rankings completely. One good way of judging colleges is how hard it is to get into them. For example, NLSIU Bengaluru has the highest cutoff over the years. The placement statistics, feedback from students, and the learning ecosystem totally justify the high cutoffs of the institute. In this article, we have dug back into the CLAT cutoffs of the last five years and ranked colleges based on the cutoffs.

    Top NLUS Based on CLAT cutoffs for last five years

    After analysing the last five years' cutoffs of CLAT, it is very evident that NLSIU Bengaluru is the number one-ranked college among NLUs. NLSIU Bengaluru has had an average closing rank of 99 for general category students in the last five years. After NLSIU Bengaluru comes NALSAR Hyderabad, which has an average closing rank of 167 in the last five years. Similarly, WBNUJS Kolkata has an average closing rank of 273. Talking of NLIU Bhopal, it has an average closing rank of 444 and is ranked 6th in terms of cutoffs in the last five years. The table given below shows the list of NLUs ranked based on their cutoffs in the last five years.

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    NLUs ranked based on CLAT cutoffs (2021-2025)

    Rank

    Institute Name

    Avg. Closing Rank

    1

    NLSIU Bengaluru

    99

    2

    NALSAR Hyderabad

    167

    3

    WBNUJS Kolkata

    273

    4

    NLU Jodhpur

    373

    5

    GNLU Gandhinagar

    433

    6

    NLIU Bhopal

    444

    7

    MNLU Mumbai

    731

    8

    RMLNLU Lucknow

    745

    9

    HNLU Raipur

    785

    10

    NLU Odisha

    1138

    11

    RGNUL Patiala

    1219

    12

    NUALS Kochi

    1280

    13

    CNLU Patna

    1421

    14

    GNLU Silvassa Campus

    1447

    15

    DSNLU Visakhapatnam

    1643

    16

    NUSRL Ranchi

    1653

    17

    MNLU Nagpur

    1665

    18

    TNNLU Tiruchirappalli

    1817

    19

    NLUJA Assam

    2010

    20

    MNLU Aurangabad

    2156

    21

    MPDNLU Jabalpur

    2195

    22

    DBRANLU Sonepat

    2213

    23

    HPNLU Shimla

    2357

    24

    RPNLU Prayagraj

    2469

    25

    NLUT Agartala

    2549

    26

    IIULER Goa

    2784

    *The data given above comprise only general category cutoffs for the last five years.

    Top NLUs based on CLAT 2025 Cutoffs

    Apart from the last five years, candidates can also judge NLUs based on the last year’s cutoff. It might not be the case that things are necessarily the same as they were five years ago. To get an idea about the latest developments and emerging NLUs, candidates can also check the list of top NLUs based on CLAT 2025 cutoffs. Talking of top NLUs in 2025, the list of the top 5 is the same as the table given above. There are slight changes as we go lower in the list. Check out the list of top NLUs in 2025 based on CLAT cutoffs.

    NLU Rank List 2025 based on CLAT Cutoffs

    Ranking

    College Name

    Opening Rank

    Closing Rank

    1

    NLSIU Bengaluru

    1

    112

    2

    NALSAR Hyderabad

    17

    159

    3

    WBNUJS Kolkata( BA LLB)

    57

    327

    4

    NLU Jodhpur

    159

    367

    5

    GNLU Gandhinagar

    236

    444

    6

    NLIU Bhopal (BA LLB)

    257

    480

    7

    RMLNLU Lucknow

    461

    780

    8

    HNLU Raipur

    480

    807

    9

    NLU Odisha BA LLB

    469

    1013

    10

    RGNUL Patiala

    565

    1279

    11

    NUALS Kochi

    350

    1346

    12

    CNLU Patna (BA LLB)

    882

    1398

    13

    GNLU Silvassa Campus

    755

    1461

    14

    MNLU Mumbai

    443

    1473

    15

    MNLU Nagpur - BA LLB

    722

    1529

    16

    NUSRL Ranchi BA LLB

    864

    1667

    17

    DSNLU Visakhapatnam

    957

    1682

    18

    TNNLU Tiruchirappalli BA LLB

    1231

    1763

    19

    DBRANLU Sonepat

    626

    1930

    20

    MNLU Aurangabad- BA LLB

    1023

    1949

    21

    NLUJA Assam

    1163

    2141

    22

    MPDNLU Jabalpur

    1371

    2243

    23

    RPNLU Prayagraj

    1446

    2469

    24

    HPNLU Shimla - BA LLB

    949

    2555

    25

    NLUT Agartala

    1964

    2855

    CLAT 2026 Expected Cutoffs for NLUs

    After studying the last five years' cutoffs of the CLAT exam, there are some predictions that can be made for the upcoming session. The CLAT 2026 cutoff for the top 5 NLUs is expected to show stability. Some changes in CLAT cutoffs 2026 can be expected in mid and low-tier NLUs. The following denotes the expected cutoffs for CLAT 2026 based on the previous year's cutoffs.

    CLAT 2026 Expected Cutoff

    College

    Avg Closing (2021-25)

    Predicted 2026 Closing

    NLSIU Bengaluru

    99

    122

    NALSAR Hyderabad

    167

    161

    WBNUJS Kolkata

    273

    331

    NLU Jodhpur

    373

    380

    GNLU Gandhinagar

    433

    490

    NLIU Bhopal

    444

    505

    MNLU Mumbai

    731

    1355

    RMLNLU Lucknow

    745

    810

    HNLU Raipur

    785

    820

    NLU Odisha

    1138

    1106

    RGNUL Patiala

    1219

    1361

    NUALS Kochi

    1280

    1348

    CNLU Patna

    1421

    1431

    GNLU Silvassa Campus

    1447

    1088

    DSNLU Visakhapatnam

    1643

    1708

    NUSRL Ranchi

    1653

    1746

    MNLU Nagpur

    1665

    1692

    TNNLU Tiruchirappalli

    1817

    1718

    NLUJA Assam

    2010

    2217

    MNLU Aurangabad

    2156

    1965

    MPDNLU Jabalpur

    2195

    2240

    DBRANLU Sonepat

    2213

    2062

    HPNLU Shimla

    2357

    2624

    RPNLU Prayagraj

    2469

    N/A

    NLUT Agartala

    2549

    3467

    IIULER Goa

    2784

    N/A

    What does the CLAT Cutoff for last 5 years say?

    • The CLAT cutoffs for top NLUs have mostly been stable over the past few years. NLSIU Bengaluru, NALSAR Hyderabad, and WBNUJS Kolkata have been the definite top 3 in terms of cutoffs.

    • Many low and mid-tier NLUs have been jumping the ladder when it comes to ranking colleges based on CLAT cutoff. For instance, GNLU Silvassa, which had a closing rank of 1820 in 2023, jumped to 1461 in 2025.

    • Similarly, MNLU Aurangabad, DBRANLU Sonepat and TNNLU Tiruchirapalli have tightened their closing cutoffs, which are directly proportional to the number of students wanting admission in these colleges.

    • Newer entrants in the NLUs list, like RPNLU Prayagraj and NLU Assam, have been seeing the lowest closing ranks when compared with all other NLUs. These NLUs are more like a safety net for general category candidates under rank 2000.

    • NLUs like MNLU Mumbai, MNLU Nagpur, HPNLU Shimla, and NLUJ Assam have shown fluctuations in cutoff, making them unpredictable over the years.

    • All colleges that offer other integrated law courses like BBA LLB, BSc LLM, etc, along with BA LLB have lower closing cutoffs for the latter one. BA LLB is the top priority of candidates in a particular college.

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    Questions related to CLAT

    On Question asked by student community

    Have a question related to CLAT ?


    With a rank of 3917 in CLAT PG, your best options for an LLM include top private universities that accept CLAT scores, along with CUETPG opportunities. Some of the best non-NLU options are BHU, LPU Jalandhar, UPES Dehradun, etc.

    Hello Santosh,

    Domicile cut-offs are unpredictable. You can apply and get a seat only if the domicile category is selected. You can apply, but the chances of getting either of them are rare.

    CLAT is an entrance examination conducted for admissions into law colleges. The qualifying marks vary with the colleges. You should check the details on the website to get a clear idea regarding cut offs for the colleges. You will also get the exam pattern through the article shared.

    The exact number for students appeared for CLAT has not been revealed yet. About 88,657 students appeared Nationwide for CLAT examination.

    Hello, it is highly unlikely to get admission to the GGSIPU Main Campus or VIPS. However, you can target other colleges affiliated with GGSIPU through the counselling process.