Time to Repair What’s Gone Wrong
With only a few weeks left for CLAT 2026, the entrance exam that decides admission into India’s premier National Law Universities (NLUs) stands at a crucial crossroads. The credibility of CLAT has taken a serious hit in recent years, especially after CLAT 2024 and CLAT 2025, which were marred by repeated errors, poor question design, and lack of transparency.
For aspirants who spend years preparing for law entrances, these failures are not minor inconveniences—they directly affect careers, confidence, and trust in the system. CLAT 2026 and the road towards CLAT 2027 therefore present a narrow but vital opportunity to correct mistakes and restore faith in the examination process.
This article, brought to you by Vivechna IAS & Judiciary Academy, examines what went wrong, why CLAT is struggling, and what reforms are urgently required.
A History of Repeated Mistakes: Problems That Keep Returning
The issues facing CLAT are neither new nor unexpected. From its early years—whether conducted by rotating NLUs or later by the Consortium of NLUs—the exam has repeatedly suffered from:
- Poorly framed questions
- Inadequate moderation
- Errors in answer keys
- Weak evaluation standards
These are not isolated accidents. They reflect systemic shortcomings, shortcuts in question-setting, and insufficient academic oversight. Over time, these repeated failures have eroded student confidence in what should be one of India’s most respected entrance examinations.
Failures in Recent Editions: CLAT 2024 and CLAT 2025
The problems became far more visible in CLAT 2024 and 2025, where multiple flaws surfaced.
Weak Question Design
Instead of testing reasoning and comprehension, many questions simply required students to locate information directly from passages. This reduced CLAT to a basic reading exercise rather than a law aptitude test.
Ambiguous Answer Choices
Several questions had more than one plausible correct answer, making evaluation unfair and leading to large-scale objections.
Errors in Answer Keys
Even after the objection process, some incorrect answers remained unchanged. This raised serious doubts about the quality of moderation and the seriousness of the review mechanism.
Risky Seat Allocation
There were reports of candidates who registered together being seated close to each other, increasing the risk of coordinated malpractice.
Sections Losing Their Purpose
Both General Knowledge and Legal Reasoning sections gradually lost their core identity and became passage-based comprehension exercises.
The Collapse of the GK Section
Traditionally, the GK section was meant to assess a candidate’s awareness of:
- Major current affairs
- Constitutional developments
- National and international events
- Public policy and governance
Recently, many of the test items in the CLAT papers contained long passages and almost all the answers were contained within the passages themselves, which defeats the purpose of testing general competence and knowledge.
A meaningful general competence and knowledge assessment should measure both retention and knowledge that has been developed or retained over a period of time, as opposed to just having the ability to pull a few lines from a paragraph.
Therefore, starting with the CLAT Test (2026) and ongoing, the General Knowledge (GK) portion will become:
- – A test of knowledge of the world around us
- – A test of retention of information
- – A test of knowledge of public policy, constitutional law, and international law or current events
Decline in Legal Reasoning
The format of CLAT’s legal aptitude questions from 2021–2023 was as follows: A principle of law; a scenario; application of law to scenario.
This structure effectively tested true legal aptitude, i.e., analytical reasoning, interpretive reasoning, and logical reasoning. However, in 2024 and 2025 it has been altered to the detriment of students who prepared diligently for legal reasoning. Many of the questions simply ask students to identify statements from a passage that relate to a legal principle formed in the passage
By diluting the principle-based legal reasoning in CLAT, they may lose credibility as a law school entrance exam.
Immediate Steps Required for CLAT 2026 / CLAT 2027
To rebuild trust, the Consortium must act immediately:
- Three-Level Question Moderation
Academic review, psychometric testing, and language checks - Authentic GK Questions
Focus on factual awareness, not passage-based clues - Fact-Based Legal Reasoning
Reinstate principle-and-application questions - Zero Tolerance for Ambiguity
Every question must have only one defensible answer - Stronger Anti-Cheating Measures
Random seating, shuffled question papers, transparent invigilation - Transparent Answer Key Process
Clear justification for accepting or rejecting objections - Accountability for Errors
Mistakes must be acknowledged and responsibility fixed
Deeper Structural Problems in CLAT
Along with short-term remedies there are fundamental flaws in the design of CLAT:
- Relies too heavily on memory testing.
- Does not place enough emphasis on analytical reasoning.
- Problems with consistency from one year to the next.
- Has weak standards for moderation.
- Doesn’t match up well with the academic year schedules.
A December test date creates extended periods of waiting for testing, messes with how students schedule their academic studies, and increases the stress level of students taking the Test.
A Long-Term Reform Blueprint for CLAT
Experts and educators have suggested a comprehensive restructuring plan.
1. Clear Exam Objectives
CLAT should test critical thinking, comprehension, logic, and legal reasoning—not rote memorisation.
2. Revised Exam Structure
A four-section format focusing on:
- Comprehension
- Legal Reasoning
- Analytical Reasoning
- Awareness
3. Strict Question Quality Standards
Multi-stage review, balanced difficulty, and absolute clarity must be mandatory.
4. Introduction of Analytical Reasoning
Puzzles, deductions, and logical conditions—similar to global law entrance exams—should be included.
5. Shifting the Exam to May
This aligns better with school boards and reduces unnecessary waiting periods.
6. Proper Implementation Framework
Pilot testing, expert supervision, and structured student feedback.
7. Expected Impact
- Greater fairness
- Reduced coaching dependency
- Better academic quality
- Improved international credibility
Why CLAT Reform Is Essential
- Randomisation reduces cheating
- Transparency builds trust
- Legal and analytical reasoning identify genuine talent
- A May exam fits naturally into academic timelines
More importantly, CLAT is often a student’s first real encounter with the idea of justice and fairness. If the exam itself feels arbitrary, it undermines the very values that legal education stands for.
A Narrow Window for Redemption
With roughly 18 days left for CLAT 2026, the Consortium still has a chance to correct many of these flaws. If it focuses on moderation, genuine GK, real legal reasoning, transparency, and accountability, public trust can still be restored.
Failure to act will only deepen the crisis.
Conclusion
CLAT 2026 is not just another exam—it is an opportunity to reaffirm the principles of fairness, intellectual rigour, and academic integrity that National Law Universities represent.
The goal must be clear:
Select thinkers, not memorizers.
Choose reasoners, not rote learners.
With serious reform, CLAT can once again become a benchmark examination. Institutions like Vivechna IAS & Judiciary Academy continue to guide aspirants with clarity, ethics, and exam-focused preparation amid this uncertainty.
FAQs: CLAT Reforms & Future of the Exam
Q1. Why has CLAT lost credibility in recent years?
Repeated errors, ambiguous questions, weak answer keys, and lack of transparency have damaged trust.
Q2. Can CLAT 2026 still be improved?
Yes. Immediate steps like better moderation, genuine GK questions, and transparent processes can still restore confidence.
Q3. Should CLAT return to principle-based legal reasoning?
Absolutely. Legal reasoning without principles defeats the purpose of testing legal aptitude.
Q4. Is shifting CLAT to May a good idea?
Yes. It aligns with academic calendars and reduces stress caused by long waiting periods.
Q5. How can aspirants prepare amid uncertainty?
Aspirants should focus on strong fundamentals, analytical reasoning, and structured preparation with institutes like Vivechna IAS & Judiciary Academy.
