CLAT PG Topper Interview 2018: AIR 1, Aayush Singhal shares his success mantra

Aayush Singhal secured Rank 1 in CLAT entrance exam for postgraduate programme admission. He achieved this feat by securing 105 marks out of a total of 150 marks.

Belonging to Jodhpur, Aayush completed his BA LLB (Hons) from National Law University, Delhi. He attributes his success to not just hardwork put in by him but also to the strong support system he had in the form of his family and friends. “So the credit of my success goes equally to the constant motivation I received from my family; specially my mother and some of my closest friends namely Amrita, Pallavi and Disha. Not to forget, it would have been impossible to achieve this without the invaluable guidance of Anubhav Verma and his excellent initiative Learning of Laws Simplified", he said.

Shiksha spoke to CLAT topper 2018, Aayush Singhal, at lengths to get an idea of his prep strategy, how he dealt with his strengths and weaknesses as well as his future plans. Go through the detailed interview below for more insight.

Though I prepared well for the exam with the intention of scoring a decent rank, topping the exam was something I had not really expected. My first reaction was of immense surprise followed by joy at the hard work paying off.

I enjoy keeping abreast with the latest technological innovations. Apart from this, I read books on philosophy and psychology. I find watching films and documentaries quite invigorating.

It was quite unfortunate that an exam conducted on this scale should suffer such setbacks. However, in light of the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and the subsequent steps taken in this regard, I believe there is not much I can add.

Section A – There is no better source for the Constitution than the bare text. One must know the articles thoroughly, as questions are sometimes asked regarding the minute details that we usually miss. Apart from this, a standard textbook on Constitution can be used to shore up knowledge on certain aspects not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution. Apart from this, one must have thorough knowledge of the landmark judgements, both historical and recent. I used sources like Livelaw and other blogs for this.

Section B – Frankly, Jurisprudence was my favourite section of the syllabus. So, I spent the maximum amount of time on reading and preparing notes on this in detail. Though this is a tedious and time-consuming process, it can be highly rewarding. I used a couple of reference books like VD Mahajan and followed it up with practicing MCQs from the various guides available in the market.

Section C – First off, it is important to know that in this section, apart from a few subjects like Torts, Law of Contracts, Criminal Law, etc. it is nearly impossible to predict what questions will be asked. I initially focused on these areas, using bare acts and basic reference books. For other areas like IPR, Company law etc, I gathered brief overview from the internet.

No, I did not take any coaching to prepare for CLAT.

While there was no detailed study plan that I followed during my preparation, I dedicated the majority of my time to Section A and Section B and ensured that I revise the syllabus for these sections at least couple of times. The preparation for Section C was majorly dependent on brushing up basic concepts from the LLM guides available in the market.

I think the only way to go about it is to identify clearly, the areas which require the most work and get down to it straightaway. Preparing notes and revising them repeatedly can come in very handy. In this regard, I would say that taking as many mock tests as possible is very helpful. These help you to gauge your preparation and overcome any shortcomings.

Other than the bare acts for the Constitution and other specific subjects, I heavily relied on VD Mahajan for Jurisprudence and the LLM guides from Universal, AK Jain and Singhal Publications to prepare the theory as well as practicing the MCQs.

I have not taken any other law entrances.

Coming from a commerce background in my senior secondary education, my first instinct was to pursue a Chartered Accountancy degree. However, when the idea of pursuing a law degree from an NLU was first introduced to me, I got hooked to it. Law provided a considerable amount of additional exposure and better career prospects as compared to any other option available to me at that point and hence I decided to pursue it. 

According to me, this year’s question paper saw a marked shift from recent years. The questions were designed to test the legal knowledge and awareness of candidates in greater depth. While the section on Jurisprudence was along predictable lines, Constitutional Law was heavier on in-depth knowledge of recent case-law and Section C, in a departure from previous years, covered a wider range of topics.

I took the CLAT PG Exam in order to appear for the interviews of various PSUs that shortlist candidates on the basis of their CLAT scores. Hence, I did not apply for any of the Universities through CLAT.

I would suggest that anyone planning to take the CLAT should start brushing up the basics of various subjects and preparing notes on them well in advance. They should also be well-informed of all recent developments in the legal field. Above all, it is imperative that your preparation is consistent and you keep yourself motivated enough throughout the process.

My immediate plan is to sit for recruitment interviews with various PSUs for the job of Legal Adviser.