Top 10 Law Schools in India based on NIRF Law Ranking 2023

The Ministry of Education released the NIRF Rankings 2023 in which the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) Bangalore bagged the top rank for the sixth time in a row. National Law University, Delhi remains unmoved in second spot while NALSAR, Hyderabad has been ranked third. India has prominent law colleges including National Law Universities and, here is a list of top 10 law colleges in India with their unique features including NIRF Ranking 2023, and the admission process. This year's top three mirror the NIRF results from 2023.

Law is an interesting career option to choose from if you are ready to study hard for the initial few years and are able to remember things, over a long duration of time. Nowadays students who opt to pursue law have the option to select from courses such as – BA LLB (5 years), BCom LLB (5-years), BSc LLB (5-years), BTech LLB (5-years) and BBA LLB (5 years) at the undergraduate level and, LLB (3 years), LLM course at postgraduate level. Also, students can choose to pursue a career in newer branches of law such as administrative law, cyber law, human rights law, environmental law, education law, and intellectual property laws, apart from the traditional ones – criminal law, civil law, corporate law, labour law, taxation law, and banking law.

Also Read:

• Know the top 10 Law Colleges in India
• Top Law Entrance Exams in India

Keeping in mind the demands of the ever-changing world, law schools in the country are also trying to become better equipped to handle issues faced by people in today’s day and time. So, in order to keep law students in tune with what is happening in the world, law schools are trying to introduce more specialised subjects and programmes.

Some of these new programmes which have been recently introduced at law schools are:

• Aviation law at NALSAR
• Public Policy at NLSIU
• Entrepreneurship administration at NUJS
• Labour welfare laws at Symbiosis Society's Law College

Apart from these new programmes, law schools these days are also paying a lot of attention to training their students well by regularly conducting moot court sessions, competitive legal events, mandatory internships and journal writing.

In this article, aspirants can go through the list of the best law schools in the country which should be considered if one wants to make a career in the field of law. Please note that the rankings for top law colleges in India are based on NIRF Ranking 2023 released on June 5, 2023.

National Law School of India University

[Ranked 1 in NIRF Ranking 2023]

Admission through: CLAT

Established in 1986 in Bangalore, the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) is spread over an area of 23 acres. Since 1991, the University is fully residential with three halls of residence for men and women each along with two Hostels for post-graduate women students, three blocks for faculty quarters and two blocks for non-teaching staff quarters beside the Academic Block. Sudha Narayanamurthy of Infosys has helped establish a library at this law school which is called “Shri Melgiri Narayan Rao Memorial Library”, named after her father.

The Chief Justice of India is the Chancellor of the University while the Chairman, Bar Council of India, is the Chairman of the General Council of National Law School of India University.

 

 

 

National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University

[Ranked 3 in NIRF Ranking 2023]

Admission through: CLAT

Commonly referred to as NALSAR University of Law, this famous law school was established in 1998 and is located in Shamirpet, the northern outskirts of Hyderabad. The Chief Justice of AP High Court is the Chancellor of this law school and Professor Srikrishna Deva Rao is its Vice-Chancellor.

A fully residential University, this law school is spread over an area of 55 acres. At present, 400 students are pursuing the undergraduate course at the university and 120 postgraduate students are present at NALSAR University of Law.

 

 

 

Gujarat National Law University

[Ranked 7 in NIRF Ranking 2023]

Admission through: CLAT

Commonly referred to as GNLU, Gujarat National Law University, located at Gandhinagar became functional in 2004. This law school is spread over an area of 50 acres of land and has 62 academic staff members along with 800 undergraduate students and 80 postgraduate students.

The official website further elaborates on the working of the law school by stating, “Since its inception, the University has been holding regular in-house Moot Court competitions wherein meritorious students are sent abroad for participating in Moot Court jamborees. The hub of activity happens to be our Moot Court Committee and the Legal Aid Clinic, which have developed a workable and efficient interface with the industry and the Judiciary to the satisfaction of us all”.

Also Read: List of 23 NLUs in India

 

 

ILS College

Admission through: MHCET Law

Established in 1923, the Indian Law Society (ILS) was initially set up as a Public Charitable Trust. Confirming this, the official website of ILS states, “The Indian Law Society established the Law College in 1924, which has since then established itself as a premier institute for legal studies in India. In 2004, the ILS Law College was accredited the A+ level by NAAC”.

The admissions to ILS Pune were earlier done on the basis of merit, now it accepts the MHCET Law exam conducted by Maharashtra Common Entrance Test Cell. 

 

 

 

Bharathi Vidyapeeth Deemed University New Law College

Admission Through: BVP Law Entrance Exam

Established in 1978, New Law College became a part of Bharathi Vidyapeeth University in 1996. BVP’s New Law College is approved by Bar Council of India (BCI) and has NAAC RE-ACCREDITED "A" GRADE.

Currently, the college has 58 teachers on board and a total of 2,300 students (including 22 foreign students) are pursuing law programmes at the college.

 

 

 

 

 

New Law College, BVP has academic collaboration with the below-mentioned international universities:

• University of Oxford, UK
• Harvard University, USA
• Liverpool Law School, UK
• University of Sussex, UK
• St. Mary University, Texas, USA
• King College, London, UK
• University of Leeds, UK
• London School of Economics, UK
• Kingston University, UK
• Hague University, Netherland
• John Marshall Law School, Chicago, USA
• State University of New York, USA
• Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain
• Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
• Beihang University School of Law, Beijing, China

Law programmes on offer at New Law College, Pune are – BA LLB, BBA LLB, LLB, LLM and Para-Legal courses.

Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia

[Ranked 5 in NIRF Ranking 2023]

Admission Through: Jamia Millia Islamia Law Entrance Exam

Established in 1989, the Faculty of Law at Jamia Millia Islamia at that time only used to offer three year LLB programme to aspirants.

Now, the Faculty of Law - JMI offers BA LLB (Hons) programmes as well as two year LLM course in three specialisations as Personal Law, Corporate Laws and Criminal Law. The law school also offers a PhD programme in law to aspirants.

In the LLM course, there are 20 seats whereas in the BA LLB (Hons) and BA LLB (Self-financed) courses, there are 60 seats each available for admission.

 

 

Hidayatullah National University of Law

Admission Through: CLAT

Established in 2003, Hidayatullah National University of Law is the sixth NLU to have been established and is a residential university.

Located in Raipur, Hidayatullah National University of Law (HNLU) official website informs that, “One of the features of HNLU is its Six Schools as Centres of Excellence in the respective fields and Six Units/Centres under each School with a total of thirty-six units”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These six schools are as follows:

• The School of Juridical & Social Sciences (SJSS)
• The School of Constitutional & Administrative Governance (SCAG)
• The School of International Legal Studies (SILS)
• The School of Science, Technology & Sustainable Development (SSTSD)
• The School of Business & Global Trade Laws Development (SBGTLD)
• The School of Administration of Justice, Continuing & Clinical Legal Education (SAJCCLE)

HNLU’s infrastructure is such that the campus includes the above-mentioned six schools. Apart from that, HNLU has a library, computer lab, moot court hall and playground. Courses on offer at HNLU are BA LLB (Hons), LLM and PhD programmes.

Faculty of Law, Banaras Hindu University

[Ranked 22 in NIRF Ranking 2023]

Admission through: BHU Undergraduate Entrance Test (UET)

Among the oldest law schools in the country, the Faculty of Law, BHU started functioning in 1921-22.

“The Law School has been a pioneer in introducing full-time three-year LLB course of studies and a two-year full-time LLM programme. It has taken the lead and is perhaps the only Law School in India in introducing two years of full-time special courses of LLM in Human Rights and Duties Education. It is the first Law School in India to introduce clinical legal education and legal aid program to cater to the needs of the poor. The Law School has also taken the lead to introduce community-oriented courses of law introducing Law Environment, Law and Country and Town Planning, Law and Poverty, Law and Population, Law and Animals and Many more which were unheard of by most of the Law colleges of India”, states the official website.

 

PG College of Law, Osmania University

PG College of Law, Osmania University

Admission Through: TSLAWCET & TSPGLCET

The college started classes in 1899 during the Nizam period. However, it was only in 1923 that the law department was established as part of the Arts College of Osmania University and during that time this law school imparted education in only Urdu language. Further, “The College shifted to Nizam College premises and in 1983 into its newly constructed building”, informs the official website.  

PG College of Law started a five-year integrated LLB course at the UG in 2006. The college also offers LLM programme in six branches – Constitutional Law, Corporate Law, Jurisprudence, International Law, Labour Law, Crimes and Torts as well as PG Diploma course in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Apart from this, the college also offers a PhD programme in law to aspirants.

Amity Law School, Delhi

Admission Through: CLAT 

Amity Law School is the first law college in Delhi to start the 5 years integrated LLB (Hons) course. Amity Law School has been established under the Ritnand Balved Education Foundation (RBEF).

The law school is affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi and degrees for the 5-year Integrated LLB (Hons) programme offered at the college are also given by the University. Also, the LLB course offered by the college is approved by the Bar Council of India.

Amity Law School has state-of-the-art infrastructure with all necessary facilities in their classrooms, computer lab and moot courts. Apart from that the school’s library “has a collection of 9450 books and 5464 bound volumes of journals and reports. In addition to this library receives more than 91 journals and 15 magazines and 8 national newspapers on a regular basis”, states the official website.

 

Faculty of Law, University of Delhi

Admission through: CUET PG, CUET UG 

Established in 1924, the Faculty of Law is situated in north campus, the University of Delhi. This law school offers programmes such as Bachelor of Law (LLB), Master of Law (LLM), Master of Comparative Laws (MCL), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Doctor of Civil Laws (DCL).

At present, the Faculty of Law has 130 faculty members and around 7,000 students enrolled in its various courses.

 

 

 

 

 

Every year students of Faculty of Law participated in different moot courts competitions in different law schools and it also conducts national and international level moot courts in its campus as under:

• K K Luthra International Moot court by Campus Law Centre
• NHRC & LC-1 Moot Court on Human Right By Law Centre-I
• Delhi NCR Moot Court by Law Centre-I

Symbiosis Law School

[Ranked 6 in NIRF Ranking 2023]

Admission through: Symbiosis Entrance Test (SET)

Symbiosis was established in 1971 under the patronage of Dr S B Mujumdar who was its president and founder-director. The official website says, “Symbiosis Law School, Pune established in June 1977, was earlier affiliated to the University of Pune and later became a constituent of Symbiosis International University in 2002, with an enhanced degree of autonomy in teaching, learning and research.”

Courses offered at Symbiosis Law School include – BA LLB, BBA LLB, LLM, Diploma programmes, PhD and certificate programmes in European legal studies as well as a certificate course in securities laws.

 

 

Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University

[Ranked 14 in NIRF Ranking 2023]

Admission through: AMU law entrance exam

Established in 1894, Aligarh Muslim University’s Faculty of Law is one of the oldest law schools in the country. This law school offers admissions to 100 students in its BA LLB course.

Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) offers graduate, postgraduate, PhD as well as diploma programmes in law. The college library is known to have more than 24,000 books.

Students also need to undergo summer training programmes. As part of these internships students of AMU’s Faculty of law intern at NHRC - New Delhi, law firms of the Supreme Court of India; guided by the Secretary Bar Council, Supreme Court etc.

 

 

School of Law, Christ University

Admission Through: Christ University Entrance Exam

[Ranked 13 in NIRF Ranking 2023]

Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara who was the founder of Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) established Christ University in 1969.  Earlier known as Christ College, MHRD of Government of India declared Christ College as a Deemed university and thus its name was changed in 2008 to Christ University.

Earlier called Christ College of Law, School of Law is a part of Christ University which was established in 2006. Law programmes offered at School of Law, Christ University is approved by Bar Council of India.

UG programmes offered at SLCU are BA LLB (Hons) and BBA LLB (Hons).

 

Other law programmes offered at the college are:

• Master of Law (LLM) in Constitutional and Administrative Law (One Year):
• Master of Law (LLM) in Corporate and Commercial Law (One Year)
• Master of Law (LLM) in Intellectual Property and Trade Law (One Year)
• Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Law
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Law

University School of Law & Legal Studies, GGSIPU

Admission Through: IPU CET

Established in 2001, the University School of Law & Legal Studies’ objective was to offer five years integrated professional law course to aspirants.

A part of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), University School of Law & Legal Studies at the undergraduate level offers BA LLB (Hons) and BBA LLB (Hons) courses to aspirants.  University School of Law & Legal Studies (USLLS) also offers LLM programmes to students in specialisations such as – Corporate Law, Human Rights Law, Intellectual Property Rights, International Trade Law and Alternative Dispute Redressal (ADR).

 

 

 

 

 

USLLS important centres and community development programmes are listed below:

• Legal Aid Centre
• Children and Family Counseling Centre
• Documentation and Internet Connectivity Centre
• Human Rights Centre
• Jail Awareness Programme
• Legal Literacy Campaigns
• Lok Adalats
• Street Plays

Read More: 

• What are NLUs? How they are different from other law schools in India?
• Placements in National Law Universities