CLAT (Common Law Admission Test), 2021

CLAT 2021: About

The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a national level entrance exam for admissions to undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) law programmes offered by 22 National Law Universities around the country.

CLAT is organized by the Consortium of National Law Universities consisting of the representative universities.

Registrations for the examination closed on 15 June 2021. The exam will be notified in due course.

CLAT 2021: Overview

CLAT 2021: Important Dates

CLAT 2021: Eligibility Criteria

UG (Under Graduate) Eligibility

1. There will be no upper age limit for UG Programme in CLAT 2021.
2. As regards minimum percentage of marks in the qualifying examination (i.e., 10+2 or an equivalent examination), the candidates must have secured:
   1. Forty five percent (45%) marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to General / OBC / PWD / NRI / PIO / OCI categories
   2. Forty Percent (40%) marks or equivalent in case of candidates belonging to SC/ST categories.
3. Candidates who are appearing in the qualifying examination in March/April, 2020 are also eligible to appear in CLAT 2020 examination. However, they shall be required to produce an evidence of their passing the qualifying examination at the time of admission, failing which they shall lose their right to be considered for admission.
4. The result of the qualifying examination (i.e., 10+2) shall be submitted by the candidate at the time of admission failing which the candidate shall be ineligible for admission to the Course.
5. In case of equal marks, the break of tie shall be by the following procedure and order as under:
   1. Higher marks in the component / section on legal aptitude in the CLAT 2020 exam;
   2. Higher age;
   3. Computerized draw of lots.

PG (Post Graduate) Eligibility

1. An LL.B Degree or an equivalent examination with a minimum of Fifty percent (50%) of marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to General/OBC/PWD/NRI/PIO/OCI categories and Forty-Five percent (45%) of marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to SC/ST categories.
2. Candidates appearing in the qualifying examination in April/May 2020 are also eligible to apply.
3. No upper age limit is prescribed for appearing in CLAT 2020.

CLAT 2021: Application Process

The Online Registration and Application process has started from 1st January onwards and the last date to submit the CLAT application form is 15 June 2021. Following steps to carry out application process is given below:

Step 1: Register for CLAT

Register on the official website. Candidates need to enter their details to register. Once registered, candidates need to activate their account by entering their mobile number, this will generate an OTP on your number. Fill that OTP and then login by setting a password. Then click on the register for the CLAT 2021 button.

Step 2: Fill the CLAT Application form

Candidates need to enter their personal details, academic details, communication details, category, exam centre preference details etc. After taking a preview of the form you can click on the submit button.

Step 3: Upload Documents 

Candidates are supposed to upload their signature, photograph and a copy of the domicile and category certificate. Otherwise, their Clat application form is not completed.

Step 4: Candidates can pay the application fee for CLAT 2021 in online mode using (debit card/ credit card/ net banking) as well as offline (bank challan) modes. CLAT Application fee for different categories is an mentioned in the table below:

CLAT 2021 Exam Pattern

The consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) has announced few changes in CLAT 2021 Exam pattern. The consortium has also shared a sectional weightage/ question paper format of CLAT 2021 on 1st Jan along with the application form.

Under Graduate (UG)

1. Maximum Marks150
2. Duration of CLAT 2021 Exam02:00 Hours
3. Multiple-Choice Questions150 questions of one mark each
4. Negative Marking0.25 Mark for each wrong answer

Post Graduate (PG)

1. Maximum Marks150
2. Duration of exam02:00 Hours
3. Multiple-Choice Questions100 questions of one mark each
4. Subjective Questions50 Marks (Two Essay type questions each of 25 Marks, 800 words per essay) on the topics of law and contemporary issues
5. Syllabus:
   1. Constitutional Law
   2. Other areas of law such as Jurisprudence, Administrative Law, Law of Contract, Torts, Family Law, Criminal Law, Property Law, Company Law, Public International Law, Tax Law, Environmental Law, and Labour & Industrial Law
6. Negative Marking0.25 Mark will be deducted for each wrong answer

CLAT 2020 Marking Scheme

Unlike the exam pattern, the marking scheme of CLAT 2020 will remains the same as earlier, i.e.

• For every correct answer, a candidate. will be awarded one mark. 
• However, for every wrong attempt, 0.25 marks are deducted from their total score.
• No marks will be awarded or deducted for questions not attempted.

Note : For Post Graduate (PG) Only candidates who secure 40% (35% in case of SC, ST, and PWD) marks in the objective section will qualify for the evaluation of their answers in the descriptive section.

CLAT Previous Year Papers

CLAT 2021: Syllabus & Guide

Under Graduate (UG)

GUIDE TO THE UG-CLAT 2021

This note describes the proposed pattern of questions for each of the five specified areas that the Undergraduate-CLAT 2021 (the “UG-CLAT 2020”) would comprise.

Introduction and Overview

The UG-CLAT 2021 would focus on evaluating the comprehension and reasoning skills and abilities of candidates. Overall, it is designed to be a test of aptitude and skills that are necessary for a legal education rather than prior knowledge, though prior knowledge occasionally may be useful to respond to questions in the Current Affairs section.

The UG-CLAT 2021 shall be a 2-hour test, with 150 multiple-choice questions carrying 1 mark each. There shall be negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer. These questions would be divided across the following 5 subjects:

• English Language
• Current Affairs, including General Knowledge
• Legal Reasoning
• Logical Reasoning
• Quantitative Techniques

English Language

In this section of the UG-CLAT 2021, you will be provided passages of about 450 words each. These passages will be derived from contemporary or historically significant fiction and non-fiction writing, and would be of a standard that a 12th standard student may be able to read in about 5-7 minutes.

Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to demonstrate your comprehension and language skills, including your abilities to:

• Read and comprehend the main point discussed in the passage, as well as any arguments and viewpoints discussed or set out in the passage;
• Draw inferences and conclusions based on the passage;
• Summarise the passage;
• Compare and contrast the different arguments or viewpoints set out in the passage; and
• Understand the meaning of various words and phrases used in the passage.

Current Affairs Including General Knowledge

In this section, you will be provided passages of up to 450 words each. The passages will be derived from news, journalistic sources and other non-fiction writing. The questions may include an examination of legal information or knowledge discussed in or related to the passage, but would not require any additional knowledge of the law beyond the passage.

Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to demonstrate your awareness of various aspects of current affairs and general knowledge, including:

• Contemporary events of significance from India and the world;
• Arts and culture;
• International affairs; and
• Historical events of continuing significance.

Legal Reasoning

In this section, you will be expected to read passages of around 450 words each. The passages may relate to fact situations or scenarios involving legal matters, public policy questions or moral philosophical enquiries. You will not require any prior knowledge of law. You will benefit from a general awareness of contemporary legal and moral issues to better apply general principles or propositions to the given fact scenarios.

Each passage would be followed by a series of questions that will require you to:

• Identify and infer the rules and principles set out in the passage;
• Apply such rules and principles to various fact situations; and
• Understand how changes to the rules or principles may alter their application to various fact situations.

Logical Reasoning

The Logical Reasoning section of the UG-CLAT 2021 will include a series of short passages of about 300 words each. Each passage will be followed by one or more questions that will require you to:

• Recognize an argument, its premises and conclusions;
• Read and identify the arguments set out in the passage;
• Critically analyse patterns of reasoning, and assess how conclusions may depend on particular premises or evidence;
• Infer what follows from the passage and apply these inferences to new situations;
• Draw relationships and analogies, identify contradictions and equivalence, and assess the effectiveness of arguments.

Quantitative Techniques

The Quantitative Techniques section of the UG-CLAT 2021 will include short sets of facts or propositions, graphs, or other textual, pictorial or diagrammatic representations of numerical information, followed by a series of questions. You will be required to derive information from such passages, graphs, or other representations, and apply mathematical operations on such information.

The questions will require you to:

• Derive, infer, and manipulate numerical information set out in such passages, graphs, or other representations; and
• Apply various 10th standard mathematical operations on such information, including from areas such as ratios and proportions, basic algebra, mensuration and statistical estimation.

Post Graduate (PG)

GUIDE TO THE PG-CLAT 2021

This note describes the proposed pattern of questions for the PG-CLAT 2021.

Introduction and Overview

The PG-CLAT 2021 will feature an emphasis on the comprehension abilities of the students. It shall be of 120 minutes duration, with two sections:

• The first section would include 100 objective-type questions carrying 1 mark each. There shall be a negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer.
• The second section would require candidates to write 2 descriptive essays.
• Candidates who secure 40% (35% in case of SC, ST, and PWD) marks in the objective section will qualify for the evaluation of their answers in the descriptive section.

The paper will be based on the mandatory subjects of the undergraduate program and include Constitutional Law, Jurisprudence, Administrative Law, Law of Contract, Torts, Family Law, Criminal Law, Property Law, Company Law, Public International Law, Tax Law, Environmental Law, and Labour & Industrial Law.

Objective Section

In this section of the PG-CLAT 2021, you will be provided extracts from primary legal materials such as important court decisions in various fields of law, statutes or regulations. Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to demonstrate the:

• Ability to read and comprehend the issues discussed in the passage, as well as any arguments and viewpoints discussed or set out in the passage;
• Awareness of the issues discussed in the passage, as well as of legal issues and facts related to and arising out of the passage and the judgment or statute from which it is extracted;
• Summarise the passage; and
• Ability to apply your knowledge of the fields of law discussed in the passage.

Descriptive Section

In this section of the PG-CLAT 2021, you will be required to write essays answering Any 2 questions from amongst the list of questions supplied. Your answers must not exceed 800 words each, and you will be required to demonstrate the following in your response:

• Awareness of the legal, factual, and philosophical issues arising out of the questions you choose to answer;
• Ability to structure your answer, and clearly set out various arguments and perspectives related to the topic set out in the questions and to draw a conclusion based on the above.

CLAT 2021: Result

Check CLAT 2021 Result, As per the CLAT exam dates, the results for CLAT 2021 will be published on the official website. CLAT results will be composed of an overall merit list with names of the candidates along with their CLAT score and categories. Apart from this, the state specific as well as all India Merit list shall be prepared for various categories like- Unreserved/ SC/ ST/ OBC/ women/ PWd etc. candidates can view their personal Login account.

CLAT 2020: Cutoff

A variation seen in CLAT Cutoff every year. The cutoff of CLAT depends on multiple criteria and they are as follows: 

1. Difficulty level of the exam
2. Total number of seats available that year

The Cut Off for the common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is the score or rank at which aspirants are offered admission in different colleges accepting their CLAT score. Thus, CLAT Cut Off forms a basis on which the candidates are offered admission in different NLUs.

CLAT 2021: Learning Tools & Materials

Introduction

English Language

Current Affairs, Including General Knowledge

Legal Reasoning

Logical Reasoning

Quantitative Techniques