CLAT Governing Body Postpones Structural Overhaul For Upcoming Exams, Revisions to Be Considered for 2028. The Governing Body of the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) has decided against implementing significant structural alterations to the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) for the next test cycle.
Although an Expert Committee had previously proposed a complete restructuring of the question paper, which included deleting sections and merging others, the Consortium has stated that the syllabus and pattern for the impending exam cycle will remain unchanged. The planned overhaul is now being considered for potential implementation starting with CLAT 2028.
CLAT 2027 Exam Cycle Structure
Candidates aspiring to appear for the next test cycle will continue to take the exam in the following five sections:
Total Questions: 120 multiple choice questions
Exam Duration: 2 hours (120 minutes)
Marking Scheme: +1 for every correct answer; 0.25 deduction for every incorrect answer
The five completely unchanged sections are:
English Language: Passage-based reading comprehension, vocabulary in context and inference.
Current Affairs Including General Knowledge: National, international and legal current events.
Legal Reasoning: Application of legal principles and rules to the given facts.
Logical Reasoning: Critical reasoning, argumentation evaluation and conclusion drawing.
Quantitative Techniques: Class X level numerical reasoning, data interpretation and basic mathematics.
What Expert Committee Proposed For CLAT 2028
The Expert Committee which was constituted on September 2025 submitted its final report that aimed to curb the reliance on coaching institutions based memorisation, while encouraging more logical and legal aptitude-based approach to the test.
Key Proposed Reforms for Under Graduate (UG) CLAT:
– Combination of 5 Sections into 3: Overlapping skills and questions were merged into three core sections.
– Dropping GK & Current Affairs: It recommended doing away with the separate General Knowledge section in an attempt to prevent memorization and coaching-driven approach.
– Merge Reasoning Sections: Both Legal Reasoning and Logical Reasoning sections were merged into one section called Logical Reasoning and Legal Aptitude.
– Reforming English and Maths Sections: Renaming the English section to Language and Comprehension, while Mathematics section (Quantitative Techniques) is strictly to test Numerical Aptitude and not calculation skills.
– Reduced Question Count: The number of questions for each section was recommended to be cut to 10-15, thereby encouraging in-depth thought over speed.
Key Proposed Reforms for Post Graduate (PG) CLAT:
– Addition of a dedicated Legal Knowledge section.
– Inclusion of a structured, descriptive question with candidate written analysis.
Why The Overhaul Was Put On Hold
The Expert Committee handed over its report on February 2, 2026 and informed the Consortium that for the 2027 cycle, any drastic change in the structure should be notified as soon as the report was published so as to allow students and institutions ample time to prepare.
Since the Consortium officially published the report several months later in July 2026, the Governing Body felt it was too late to implement drastic changes without disturbing the preparation of CLAT aspirants.
Next Steps and Public Consultation
The Consortium has outlined the following path forward, keeping in mind transparency and comprehensive review:
– Public Consultation: Students, legal academics and parents can submit their suggestions to the Expert Committee Report on the official website (consortiumofnlus.ac.in) till August 31, 2026.
– CJI Office Committee Review: Another committee under the Office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) is undertaking a detailed examination of the recommendations mentioned in the report.
– Quality of Questions: Although the structure of the paper will remain same for the upcoming cycle, the paper setters have been instructed to use the quality guidelines provided by the Committee where it deems fit.
