Will CLAT 2027 syllabus be revised? Expected Reforms & Syllabus Revision
  • Law Exams
  • CLAT Exam
  • Will CLAT 2027 syllabus be revised? Expected Reforms & Syllabus Revision

Will CLAT 2027 syllabus be revised? Expected Reforms & Syllabus Revision

Shubham BhakuniUpdated on 20 Nov 2025, 12:56 PM IST

The Consortium of National Law Universities (CNLU) has set up a five-member committee to review the CLAT questions and test structure, and to compare them with the LNAT and LSAT exams. The reforms suggested by the committee will be implemented from CLAT 2027 onwards. This means there are good chances of a syllabus overhaul and CLAT might adopt globally accepted benchmarks.

Will CLAT 2027 syllabus be revised? Expected Reforms & Syllabus Revision
Will CLAT 2027 syllabus be revised

What is CLAT syllabus?

The 2026 CLAT has five sections in the question paper. These are based on subjects - English comprehension, logical reasoning, legal reasoning, Maths, current affairs and general knowledge. The CLAT syllabus emphasises both critical thinking and rote memorisation. However, the question paper is in a comprehensive-heavy format, making it lengthy and extremely difficult for students who struggle in English.

CLAT syllabus for 2026 exam

Subject Areas with weightage:

(approximate number of questions)

English Language

22-26 questions, or roughly 20% of the paper

Current Affairs, including General Knowledge

28-32 questions, or roughly 25% of the paper

Legal Reasoning

28-32 questions, or roughly 25% of the paper

Logical Reasoning

22-26 questions, or roughly 20% of the paper

Quantitative Techniques

10-14 questions, or roughly 10% of the paper

What changes are expected?

The committee reviewing the CLAT with four terms of reference. These are:

  • Question quality

  • Structure of the paper

  • Syllabus of the exam

  • A comparative review of the LNAT and LSAT exams

Amity University-Noida Law Admissions 2026

Among top 100 Universities Globally in the Times Higher Education (THE) Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2026

UPES Integrated LLB Admissions 2026

Ranked #18 amongst Institutions in India by NIRF | Ranked #1 in India for Academic Reputation by QS Rankings | 16 LPA Highest CTC

The review of the CLAT in line with the four terms given above can not only change the syllabus but also the pattern and structure of the test.

With regard to question quality, the consortium faced criticism in recent years for asking ambiguous questions with incorrect answers. A majority of the questions in CLAT are asked from comprehension passages, requiring interpretation and critical analysis of the content before one answers the underlying questions. The interpretation element in CLAT has been contested in past, resulting in students knocking on the doors of various high courts and the Supreme Court. Last year, the consortium was forced to revise the CLAT results following the Supreme Court order.

A review of question quality should aim to minimise misinterpretation and ambiguity in questions. This would require careful framing of inference-based questions where answers are clearly identifiable.

The structure of the CLAT question paper is comprehension-heavy, often overwhelming students. Each section contains multiple passages of 400-450 words.

The general knowledge and current affairs sections are uniquely designed to test reading skills before awareness of national and international affairs. A reformed CLAT, if it prioritises skills over rote memorisation, should move away from factual general knowledge.

A comparative review of LSAT and LNAT with CLAT and subsequent revisions should bring the exam into parity with globally accepted benchmarks. The LSAT and LNAT very comprehensively target skill testing. Prior knowledge of law or general awareness is not considered crucial in these exams. Instead, focus is given to reading comprehension, critical thinking, analytical skills and essay writing.

Quantitative skills are also not included in the LSAT and LNAT patterns, nor are they included in the All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) conducted by the National Law University, Delhi.

The logical reasoning and legal reasoning sections also need a review. These two sections in the current CLAT pattern become indistinguishable. The logical reasoning section, with comprehension paragraphs on current issues and analytical news articles, brings it very close to legal reasoning in terms of testing critical thinking. So, either these two subjects should be merged with each other, making one logical reasoning section, or there should be a clear demarcation between these two sections. One tests critical thinking through legal-journalistic material, another is more inclusive of logical-analytical reasoning involving slightly objective questions such as identification of patterns, puzzles, relations or seating arrangements.

Keeping in mind the terms of reference, the reformed CLAT should:

  1. Have a more objective test of critical thinking and analytical skills.

  2. Reading comprehension can remain at the core for being indispensable in three sections — English, logical reasoning and legal reasoning.

  3. The maths sections can be removed by shifting some elements of basic data interpretation into logical reasoning

  4. General knowledge should have no place in the reformed test structure if it is truly aligned with the global benchmarks.

  5. Logical reasoning and legal reasoning are indistinguishable — they should either be merged or kept separate with objective clarity.

CLAT 2026 College Predictor
Know your admission chances in National Law Universities based on your home state & exam result for All India Category & State Category seats.
Try Now

A revised CLAT syllabus is likely to have three sections.

  • English comprehension

  • Logical reasoning inclusive of legal aptitude

  • Current affairs

Lovely Professional University | Law Admissions 2026

India's Largest University | BCI approved | Meritorious Scholarships up to 5 lacs |

Jain University, Bangalore - Law Admissions 2026

NAAC A++ Approved | Curriculum Aligned with BCI & UGC

Glitch-free CLAT

Above all, the priority should be conducting a glitch-free CLAT with fewer errors in answer keys and results. CLAT, since its inception, has frequently encountered glitches, answer key errors, and transparency issues. The objection fees of Rs 1000 are a compounding problem for students that needs a review. While many of these are issues related to the administration of the test, the answer key issues can be addressed with better framing of questions.

Meanwhile, students preparing for CLAT 2027 should consider these reforms in their preparation strategy. Focus on reading comprehension and logical reasoning based on news and journalist material to begin with. It is likely to remain key in the new CLAT syllabus.

Disclaimer: These are expected changes and suggestion for a CLAT reforms. The report of Committee of Independent Academic Experts is yet to be published. Any changes in CLAT 2027 will be notified by Consortium of NLUs on its official website.

Articles
|
Upcoming Law Exams
Certifications By Top Providers
Study from Still Life
Via Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi
Political Ideologies
Via Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune
Introduction to History of Architecture in India
Via Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune
Introduction to Peace and Conflict Management BGP-001
Via Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi
Home Science-Extension and Communication Management Level-2
Via English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad
Education for Sustainable Development
Via Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Swayam
 162 courses
Edx
 129 courses
Futurelearn
 74 courses
NPTEL
 74 courses
Explore Top Universities Across Globe

Questions related to CLAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CLAT ?

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

With a CLAT LLM rank of 13656, getting a top NLU is difficult. You may have chances in lower-ranked NLUs or private law universities, depending on seat availability and category.


You can check CLAT LLM counselling details here:

https://law.careers360.com/articles/clat-llm-cut-off


Hello there,

Having a 15000 general rank and 1740 as your SC category rank, your chances of securing a seat are very low. As per the previous trends, it is a direct no for you to get into the top-tier NLUs since the closing general rank is around 1500-3000. If

With a CLAT PG rank of 1257 in the SC category and being a woman candidate with Rajasthan domicile, you do have a realistic chance of securing admission to several National Law Universities, though the top NLUs may be difficult at this rank. Admission chances depend heavily on category-wise cut-offs,

With a CLAT PG rank of around 11,000, getting admission into the top National Law Universities (NLUs) is not likely, as their general category cut-offs usually close much earlier. However, you still have realistic chances in lower-ranked and newer NLUs, especially in the later rounds of CLAT counselling or through