In one line: Law Entrance Part 6: CLAT PG is the LLM entrance to the NLUs: an objective section built on passage based constitutional and legal knowledge plus two.

CLAT PG is the LLM entrance to the NLUs: an objective section built on passage based constitutional and legal knowledge plus two descriptive essays. In fact, this note covers the pattern, the subject weight map, and the answer writing method.

Quick Answer: CLAT PG is the LLM entrance to the NLUs: an objective section built on passage based constitutional and legal knowledge plus two descriptive essays. Moreover, this note covers the pattern, the subject weight map, and the answer writing method.

Table of Contents.

1. The Pattern Card
2. Therefore, the Objective Section: What Gets Tested
3. The Subject-Weight Map
4. The Descriptive Essays: The Method
5. The Preparation Stack
6. How Exams Probe This Topic
7. Quick Revision: One-Glance Facts

1. The Pattern Card.

• Meanwhile, the format. CLAT PG: 120 questions’ worth in 2 hours — the current structure: ~100-120 objective questions (passage-based. +1/−0.25) plus two essay questions (25 marks each in the 120-mark scheme — the exact split varies by year. Verify the current notification) covering constitutional law and jurisprudence/current legal topics.
• LLM admission to the NLUs (and the PSUs that recruit through CLAT PG scores — the ONGC-type recruitment makes it a job exam too, a fact many aspirants miss).
• As a result, an LLB (3-year or 5-year) with 50% (45% for reserved categories).

2. The Objective Section: What Gets Tested.

• Passages drawn from judgments (heavily), legal provisions. Commentary — questions test close reading of the extract plus the surrounding doctrine: what the case held, which article/statute applies, the precedent line.
• Unlike UG, prior legal knowledge is assumed — the passages reward candidates who already know the landmark cases and can locate a passage within its doctrinal context in seconds.

3. The Subject-Weight Map.

In other words, the recurring weight order to plan revision around:

1. Constitutional Law (~30-40%) — the doctrine-of basic structure line, fundamental rights’ case-law, federalism, the collegium. Meanwhile, the recent verdicts (electoral bonds, Article 370, sub classification — each year’s headline cases flow in).
2. Law of Torts and Contracts (~15-20%) — the classic cases’ facts and holdings one-liners.
3. Criminal Law (~10-15%) — the IPC’s landmark doctrines (now mapped onto the BNS 2023’s equivalent provisions — the transition itself is examinable).
4. Jurisprudence (~10%) — the schools and thinkers (Austin, Hart, Fuller, Rawls — the Part 2-of Ethics toolkit overlaps).
5. Public International Law and IPR (~10%) — treaties, ICJ basics, the TRIPS-patent line.
6. Indeed, the recent acts layer — the new criminal codes, the DPDP Act 2023 — the current-affairs-of law set.

4. The Descriptive Essays: The Method.

• Typically one constitutional-law essay and one jurisprudence or current topic (“Judicial review and basic structure: doctrinal development”. “Data protection and the right to privacy”).
• Specifically, the structure (the four paragraph frame). (1) Introduction with the doctrinal anchor (a case name and a one-line thesis). (2) the body — two paragraphs of authority: leading cases with one-line holdings, statutory provisions, committee reports. (3) the counter current (criticism, dissenting views); (4) conclusion with your position in one sentence.
• The writing discipline. ~400-500 words per essay in ~25 minutes; legible structure with headings or clear paragraphing; authority density is the scoring differentiator — every paragraph should carry a case name or provision.

5. The Preparation Stack.

• The core artefact: the case-bank. Similarly, a structured file of ~150-200 landmark judgments — name, area, one-line holding. Meanwhile, the precedent it followed or overruled — built from your LLB notes and the year’s verdicts. Revise it four times before the exam.
• The bare acts fluency. Overall, the Constitution (Parts III, IV, V), the contract-tort criminal core, and the new codes’ mapping tables.
• The past papers. Consortium’s CLAT PG papers (2020-2025) — the passage style calibrates exactly; the PSU-recruitment previous papers add volume.
• Six to eight timed essays before the exam, evaluated against the four paragraph frame.

6. How Exams Probe This Topic.

• Consequently, the dual track awareness: LLM admission vs PSU recruitment — different cut-off dynamics (the PSUs’ interview-plus score weights); check the recruiting PSUs’ years’ lists.
• Furthermore, the AILET PG divergence: NLU Delhi’s LLM entrance is more static recall with its own essay pattern — the case bank serves both.

7. Quick Revision: One-Glance Facts.

• Objective (~100-120 passage Qs) + two essays; 2 hours; +1/−0.25; LLB-50% eligibility; the PSU-recruitment side-door.
• Constitution first (~30-40%), torts-contracts, crime, jurisprudence, PIL-IPR, the recent acts.
• Likewise, the 150-200-case bank; bare acts fluency; 6-8 timed essays; consortium past papers.
• Anchor → authority → counter → position.

CLAT PG rewards accumulated legal structure: the case bank as the single high-ROI artefact, the constitutional heavy weight map for revision ordering. In short, the four paragraph authority dense essay frame. Build those three and the objective passages become recognition tests and the essays become assembly work.

Practice Corner: Five PG Checks (with Answers).

1. CLAT PG’s two components? — Passage based objective questions plus two descriptive essays .
2. The heaviest subject weight? — Constitutional law (~30-40%) .
3. The single highest-ROI preparation artefact? — The 150-200 case bank .
4. Who else recruits through the score? — Several PSUs (check the year’s list).
5. The essay frame? — Anchor → authority → counter → position .

The Case-Bank Entry Format (One Card, Full Marks’ Worth).

Case: Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala. Bench/year: 13 judges, 1973. Subsequently, one line holding: Parliament’s amendment power cannot destroy the Constitution’s basic structure. Precedent line: overruled the narrow view of Shankari Prasad-Golak Nath era; applied in Minerva Mills, IR Coelho. Exam ready pairing: basic structure ↔ electoral bonds-era ” unconstitutional amendment” hypothetics; or federalism ↔ the reorganisation questions. Build one card per landmark — the DoCTRINE cases (Maneka, Bommai, Puttaswamy, Vishaka, Indra Sawhney, Olga Tellis), the recent headliners. Moreover, the subject classics in torts-contracts crime — and the objective section’s passages become recognition tests while the essays gain the authority density that separates the converts from the near-misses. Meanwhile, one card a day across the preparation year is the entire PG strategy in miniature.

The Optional-Choice-Question (The PG’s Only-Strategic-Variable).

In fact, the CLAT PG’s optional subject (where the pattern retains it) is the exam’s only strategic variable. Meanwhile, the popular set: constitutional law, international law and the public-law blends (the GS-adjacent comfort), with administrative and commercial law as the specialisation tilts. Moreover, the scoring evidence: constitutional law has the richest previous-year bank and the most material. Less-travelled subjects offer smaller competition but thinner preparation — the trade-off’s honest arithmetic. And the long shadow: the optional connects to the interview, the LLM dissertation and the career thread. Meanwhile, the choice’s rule: the intersection of your graduation’s strongest paper and the PYU-richest subject is the default. Meanwhile, with constitutional depth (useful in any choice) as the insurance layer.

The PSU-Recruitment-Track (the Forgotten-Second-Door).

the CLAT-PG’s PSU-routes: the recruiting organisations (the ONGC and the oil and the power and the legal-adviser’s roles the annual lists the notification’s cycle the verify-item). Moreover, the selection’s differences (the score plus the interview’s weights. Meanwhile, the experience and the category’s norms the PSU’s specifics versus the LLM-admission’s merit-only). And the strategy’s implication (the PG’s preparation double value — the LLM and the job the two-tracks. In other words, the form’s and the interview’s the PSU-specific layer the corporate and the commercial-law’s tilt the preparation’s complementary-chapter). the second-door’s thesis: the CLAT-PG-candidate’s market is wider than the LLM — and the preparation’s final-month’s division (the descriptive’s craft and the PSU’s interview-layer)-the parallel-tracks’ design.

Exam-Ready Addendum: The India-Case Anchors.

Strategy formulation answers gain altitude with Indian anchors: the conglomerate portfolio (the Tata group’s perpetual rebalancing — the acquisitions and divestments as corporate level strategy’s living case). Therefore, the cost and scale play (the Jio entry — penetration pricing as business level strategy reshaping an industry’s economics). Meanwhile, the focus-and premium (the Royal Enfield turnaround — a niche strategy’s disciplined refusal of the mass market). Meanwhile, the strategic-pivot (the IT services firms’ move up the value chain from body shopping to platforms-and consulting). And the failure-file (the airline entries-and exits, the retail’s over expansion cases — formulation errors with their lesson named). Five anchors, each one sentence: the case answer that pairs a framework stage with a named Indian outcome reads as applied strategy rather than imported theory — precisely the distinction the cases and essays are set to detect.

Read next: Law Entrance Part 8: Counselling — The Five-List Allotment Loop, Exam-Ready Notes

Related exam guides.

• Law Entrance Part 8: Counselling — The Five-List Allotment Loop, Exam-Ready Notes.
• Law Entrance Part 7: LSAT India — The Four-Section Logic Paper, Exam-Ready Notes.
• Law Entrance Part 5: AILET — Pattern Divergences and the Delhi Plan, Exam-Ready Notes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should you know about 1. The Pattern Card?

Meanwhile, the format. CLAT PG: 120 questions’ worth in 2 hours — the current structure: ~100-120 objective questions (passage-based. +1/−0.25) plus two essay questions (25 marks each in the 120-mark scheme — the exact split varies by year. Verify the current notification) covering constitutional law and jurisprudence/current legal topics.

What should you know about 2. The Objective Section: What Gets Tested?

Passages drawn from judgments (heavily), legal provisions. Commentary — questions test close reading of the extract plus the surrounding doctrine: what the case held, which article/statute applies, the precedent line. Unlike UG, prior legal knowledge is assumed — the passages reward candidates who already know the landmark cases and can locate a passage within its doctrinal context in seconds.

What should you know about 3. The Subject-Weight Map?

As a result, the recurring weight order to plan revision around: Constitutional Law (~30-40%) — the doctrine-of basic structure line, fundamental rights’ case-law. Federalism, the collegium, the recent verdicts (electoral bonds, Article 370, sub classification — each year’s headline cases flow in). Law of Torts and Contracts (~15-20%) — the classic cases’ facts and holdings one-liners.

What should you know about 4. The Descriptive Essays: The Method?

Typically one constitutional-law essay and one jurisprudence or current topic (“Judicial review and basic structure: doctrinal development”. “Data protection and the right to privacy”). In other words, the structure (the four paragraph frame). (1) Introduction with the doctrinal anchor (a case name and a one-line thesis). (2) the body — two paragraphs of authority: leading cases with one-line holdings, statutory provisions, committee reports. (3) the counter current (criticism, dissenting views); (4) conclusion with your position in one sentence.

What should you know about 5. The Preparation Stack?

The core artefact: the case-bank. Notably, a structured file of ~150-200 landmark judgments — name, area, one-line holding. Meanwhile, the precedent it followed or overruled — built from your LLB notes and the year’s verdicts. Revise it four times before the exam. The bare acts fluency. Specifically, the Constitution (Parts III, IV, V), the contract-tort criminal core, and the new codes’ mapping tables.

Related explainers

The Basic Structure Doctrine: From Kesavananda Bharati to Today, Exam-Ready Notes

Beyond CLAT: PCS J and the Civil Judge Route

Legal Maxims for CLAT and AILET: The 40 You Must Know, with Indian Context