How is NLU Delhi different from other National Law Universities?

National Law University, Delhi is not a part of CLAT Consortium unlike other 24 NLUs in India. Read here what makes NLU Delhi different than other NLUs and more.

National Law University, (NLU) Delhi, included among one of the most prestigious law universities in India. Apart from NLU Delhi, there are 24 National Law Universities (NLUs) in India. NLU Delhi offers law courses i.e. five-year Intergrated BA LLB (Hons.) course at the undergraduate level, One-year LLM course at the postgraduate level, and PhD courses at the doctorate level. For admission to the law courses, NLU Delhi conducts its own law entrance exam known as the All India Law Entrance Test (AILET), thus making it the only law school in India that does not accept the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). Read here in detail about what makes NLU Delhi different than other NLUs in India and, why it does not accept CLAT scores. 

How is NLU Delhi different from other National Law Universities?

Even though NLU Delhi is a National Law University but it is not a part of the Consortium of NLUs, which raises the obvious question 'how is it different than other NLUs?. All the NLUs in India have been granted the status by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Thus, there is no major difference in the courses offered at NLU Delhi as compared to the other National Law Universities. Moreover, NLU Delhi is built on the five-year integrated law degree model as proposed and implemented by the Bar Council of India (BCI). 

Every year, the National Institute of Ranking Framework (NIRF) publishes Law Ranking and NLU Delhi features among the top law schools in India. In 2023, it was ranked among the top 2 law universities i.e. at second position after National Law School of India University, Bangalore with 1st rank and, was followed by National Academy of Legal Study & Research (NALSAR) University of Law, Hyderabad at 3rd rank.

Also read: 

NLU Delhi Admission News 2024

When & Why was NLU Delhi established?

NLU Delhi was established in 2008 by Act No 1 of 2008 of NCT Delhi in the National Capital Territory of Delhi with the initiative of the High Court of Delhi under the leadership of Prof (Dr) Ranbir Singh (also the Founder-Director/Vice-Chancellor of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad). The first batch by NLU Delhi was admitted in 2008.

NLU Delhi was established in order to offer comprehensive and interdisciplinary legal education that is socially relevant. Along same lines, the official website of the law school informs: “The University works toward the dissemination of legal knowledge and its role in national development so that the ability to analyse and present contemporary issues of public concern and their legal implications for the benefit of the public is improved. These processes strive to promote legal awareness in the community and to achieve political, social and economic justice”.

Why NLU Delhi conducts a separate entrance exam?

Out of the 25 NLUs in India, NLU Delhi is the only one to conduct its own separate entrance test. Why does this happen? Elaborating on the same Shiksha’s Expert Vivek Subramanium said, “Almost all law entrance exams are conducted at around the same time, i.e., April to June. With the emergence of other law schools, which also sought to conduct their admission tests, students faced a hard time preparing for them. From time to time this issue to conduct a common entrance exam to reduce the burden of students to give multiple tests was raised, but given the autonomous status of each law school, there was no nodal agency to co-ordinate action to this regard”. He further informed that the matter drew national attention when a Public Interest Litigation was filed by Varun Bhagat against the Union of India and various National Law Universities in the Supreme Court of India in 2006. The Chief Justice of India directed the Union of India to consult with the National Law Universities to formulate a common test. The move was strongly supported by the Bar Council of India, but NLU Delhi stood its ground and continued conducting its own entrance exam.

The instant question that comes to mind is – Why is NLU Delhi doing it differently from the rest of the NLUs? This was answered by NLU Delhi’s Founder Vice-Chancellor, Ranbir Singh in 2011 when he told a leading newspaper, “AILET was created in 2008 by NLU Delhi separately from the CLAT, which is the unified entrance exam to national law universities and others. The reason behind it was the poor administration of CLAT and the motivation to select students for whom NLU Delhi was not a lower preference”.

Read More:

List of National Law Universities in India - Ranking, Admission Procedure