It's been over a month since CLAT was held and results were announced. However, the NLU admission process remains hostage to the ongoing controversy around the results. In the latest, the January 7 hearing in the Aditya Singh vs NLU Consortium case, no conclusive outcome was reached other than the NLU Consortium seeking the transfer of the case to the Supreme Court and the case was adjourned for January 30.
In the table below are the counselling dates of CLAT 2026.
| Event | Date |
| Release of the first allotment list | January 7, 2026 (10:00 AM) |
| Payment of the seat confirmation fee | January 7 - January 15, 2026 |
| Deadline for document upload | January 15, 2026 (1:00 PM) |
| Release of the second allotment list | January 22, 2026 |
The NLU Consortium has asked the Supreme Court to transfer all similar cases in different high courts to the top court. This is more judicious in the sense that all such matters would be dealt with in the final court of appeal bringing an early closure of all such cases.
The fact is that CLAT 2025 results and NLUs admission schedule remain uncertain and so are the admission chances of thousands of students who appeared in the exam.
So what’s next? If you are in a general category, scoring anywhere less than 80 in the recently announced CLAT results, it is fair to say that even revised results would not give you a top NLU, and the best way forward is to look out for other entrance exams.
So, let’s now talk about some of the options that you can consider beyond CLAT in this article;
First on the list would be the MH CET 5-year LLB, since the registration for this exam has opened recently. If you are not sure if the CLAT score will not give you a seat in any of the top 13-14 NLUs, do consider appearing in MH CET Law.
Over 120 law colleges in Maharashtra accept the state-level law entrance exam of CET Cell. These include both government and self financed law colleges.
However, a few colleges such as GLC Mumbai, ILS Pune, D Y Patil College of Law, Ambedkar College of Law in Nagpur and Rizvi Law College are good options. Are they better than tier 3 NLUs, that is another topic of discussion, but they are certainly the top law schools participating in MH CET Law.
Jindal Global Law School is another option that you can consider. The law school based in Sonipat is a good option as it competes with prominent national law universities. The law school is accepting LNAT UK. The first phase of registration for LNAT UK was closed on December 31, however, the second phase of the registration window is open till March 31.
While Jindal does provide multiple integrated LLB courses in the form of BA LLB, BCom LLB and BBA LLB, keep in mind that the cost of these courses is slightly on the higher side and can go up to Rs. 9.8 Lakh per annum if tuition fees, accommodation fees and services charges are considered.
The third option is BITs Law School, although it accepts CLAT, MH CET Law, and SLAT, but appearing in the BITS Law Admission Test is recommended if you are specifically interested in the integrated LLB programme of BITS.
CUET UG Law is another entrance exam, probably the most popular among all. Although CUET UG will be accepted by all central universities and many state universities and private law schools, the Faculty of Law at BHU and Allahabad University are the most recommended ones.
At the university level, Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University also conduct their separate law entrance exams. Among these, Jamia is ranked as the 6th best law school in India by NIRF Law 2024 ranking, whereas AMU has secured the 12th position.
Panjab University which has a main law centre in Chandigarh, and two regional centres, one in Ludhiana and the other in Hoshiarpur, also conducts a law entrance exam. The PU law entrance exam is conducted for BA LLB and BCom LLB courses and it is expected to be held in April - May.
Finally, there are some other state-level law entrance exams you can look for. For example, if you are from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, do consider appearing in TS LAWCET and AP LAWCET, Whereas, Kerala also has a separate entrance exam, KLEE. these admission notifications for these exams are expected to be announced soon, so keep checking their website for regular updates on these exams.
On Question asked by student community
Since you scored 8000 AIR in CLAT, getting into top NLUs may not be possible, so it is a good idea to look for affordable and good law colleges.
State government law colleges are usually low in fees, and have decent reputation. Some options include Government Law College, Mumbai, Faculty
Yes you can get addmission into UPES dehradun with the clat rank of 8037
Through the below college predictor you will get the list of best collges based on your rank:
CLAT College Predictor 2026 (Free) - https://law.careers360.com/clat-college-predictor
Hope it helps
With 67 marks in and SC rank 415 in CLAT, you have a very good chance of getting admission in CNLU Patna BA LLB. The SC category cut-off at Patna NLU are usually much lower than the general category, so your rank is well within the likely range. Final admission
HELLO,
For CLAT 2026 counselling , the only official registration window announced by the Consortium of NLUs was from 17 Dec 2025 to 27 Dec 2025 that was last date to register and pay the fee. There are no additional or alternate registration dates released for 2026 beyond this window.
With an AIR of 34724 and OBC category rank of 7153, chances of getting a seat in DSNLU Visakhapatnam are low in early rounds. However, since you are already invited for counselling, there may be some chance in later rounds depending on seat vacancy and cut-off movement. You should participate
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