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CLAT Counselling Guidelines

The CLAT First Indicative list based on merit and preference is out and the students have been given time to pay the fees in order to claim the seat. Let’s understand how the Counselling process works. For the sake of convenience, let us assume that a student Pavan with the following preference list has got a rank of 1000 and obtained a seat in NUALS, Kochi in the first list.

S.No	Name of the Institution	Location
1	National Law School of India University (NLSIU)	Bengaluru
2	National Academy of Legal Study and Research (NALSAR) University of Law	Hyderabad
3	West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS)	Kolkata
4	National Law Institute University (NLIU)	Bhopal
5	National Law University (NLU)	Jodhpur
6	Gujarat National Law University (GNLU)	Gandhinagar
7	Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU)	Raipur
8	National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS)	Kochi
9	National Law University Odisha (NLUO)	Cuttack
10	Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU)	Mumbai
11	Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University (RMLNLU)	Lucknow
12	Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL)	Punjab
13	Chanakya National Law University (CNLU)	Patna
14	DamodaramSanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU)	Visakhapatnam
15	National University of Study and Research in Law (NUSRL)	Ranchi
16	National Law University and Judicial Academy (NLUJA)	Assam
17	Tamil Nadu National Law School (TNNLS)	Tiruchirappalli
18	Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU)	Nagpur

First step is to login and go to the Allotment page in order to check Allotment and go ahead with counselling process.

Counselling Process-

Now he has got 3 options.

Option 1 – He pays the counselling fee of Rs. 50000/- and chooses the ‘Lock’ option. In this situation, even if there is a vacancy in HNLU Raipur or any of the NLUs from his preference 1 to 7, and based on rank, he could have got an upgrade in the second list, he would have to continue in Kochi, because he has locked the selection.

Option 2 – He pays the counselling fee of Rs. 50000/- and selects the ‘Upgrade’ option. Now, once the second list is being prepared, in case there is a vacancy in any of the NLUs from preference 1 to 7, if he is eligible for any of them, he will be allotted that seat.

Now assume that in the second list, he is allotted Gandhi nagar. Since Pavan is from Hyderabad, he prefers south India and does not like to go to Gandhi nagar. He will lose his seat in Kochi and cannot claim the Kochi seat because he has opted for Upgrade. Even if he wants Raipur, it is not possible now, as he allotted his higher preference i.e, Gandhi nagar. The fee paid earlier will be carried over to the newly allotted NLU. So the student need to only exercise the option of ‘Lock’ to confirm seat in Gandhinagar or continue with ‘Upgrade’ mode.

Option 3 – Pavan does not like to study in Kochi and has not paid the counselling fee of Rs. 50000/- Now assume that in the second list, there is a vacancy in HNLU Raipur, based on his rank. In this situation, since he has not paid the fee of Rs. 50000/-, he will not be considered for the second list at all. In the situation that he does not like to study in Kochi, he should pay the counselling fee of Rs. 50000/- and continue in the counselling process. He can exit the counselling process at any stage before the given deadline and he will lose only Rs. 10,000/- as he is refunded with the remaining amount.

Similar process will continue after the second and third lists are published. By the deadline, in case you are not satisfied with the allotted NLU, you can withdraw from the admission process and the remaining seats will be allotted to the waitlisted candidates. The fourth and final list will be published.

Please note that the domicile/category certificates should be kept ready during this time. The list of documents required for verification need to be checked on the individual NLU website and accordingly they should be carried to the NLU along with the balance payment.

After the fourth list is published and allotted time for payment is over, the CLAT counselling process comes to an end. Any further vacancies will be intimated and handled by the respective NLUs. So please check the individual NLU websites regularly and apply directly. Out of the applied candidates against the vacant seats, the NLU will allot the seats.

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