Common Law Admission Test 2015 will be on 10th May 2015; All you want to know about CLAT 2015

LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK

18 Dec 2014 10:51 AM GMT

The Under-Graduate Programme Offered By The National Law Universities

The Sixteen NLUs offer a five-year integrated under-graduate law courses leading to the award of B.A. LL.B., B.Sc. LL.B., B.B.A. LL.B., B.S.W. LL.B., B.Com. LL.B. (Hons.) degrees. While B.A. LL.B. is offered by most of the universities, B.Sc. LL.B. Course is offered by WBNUJS (Kolkata), NLU (Jodhpur) and GNLU (Gandhinagar). B.B.A. LL.B. is offered by NLU (Jodhpur), GNLU (Gandhinagar), CNLU (Patna) and NLUO (Cuttack); whereas B.S.W. LL.B. and B.Com. LL.B. (Hons.) degree courses are offered by GNLU (Gandhinagar) alone.

The Post-Graduate Programme Offered By National Law Universities

The information of the LL.M. degree course offered at the various NLUs with the duration and the specializations have been provided in detail under the sections of each University. The candidates are also advised to check the websites of respective Universities from time to time to keep themselves updated about the changes in the course structure and other details.

Eligibility criteria for admission to UG/PG programme

S.No.	Name of the University	Qualification for Admission to U.G./P.G. Programme	Age	Reservation
1.	Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National University, Lucknow	For U.G. ProgrammeA candidate should have obtained Higher Secondary School/ Intermediate (10+2) or its equivalent certificate from a recognized Board with not less than 45% marks in aggregate (40% in case of SC and ST candidates), as prescribed by the respective Statutes of the participating Universities.For P.G. ProgrammeA candidate should have obtained an LL.B./a five year integrated LL.B./any other equivalent degree from a recognized University with not less than 55% marks in aggregate (50% in case of SC/ST candidates), as prescribed by the respective Statutes of the participating Universities.	For U.G. ProgrammeA candidate should be below 20 years of age as on 1st July, 2015 (22 years in case of SC/ST and Persons with Disability candidates, as prescribed by the respective Statutes of the participating Universities. For P.G. Programme The participating Universities have not prescribed any upper age limit for PG Programmes	For U.G./P.G. ProgrammeAs per the Statutes of respective participating Universities. Details may be seen in the prospectus of the respective University appended herewith.
2.	Chanakya National Law University, Patna
3.	Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar
4.	Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur
5.	NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad
6.	The National Law Institute University, Bhopal
7.	National Law School of India University, Bangalore
8.	National Law University, Jodhpur
9.	National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam, Guwahati
10.	National Law University Odisha, Cuttack
11.	The National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi
12.	National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi
13.	Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala
14.	The Tamil Nadu National Law School, Tiruchirappalli
15.	The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
16.	Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Visakhapatnam

The different subject areas of the examination are explained as under:

1. English including comprehension

The English section will test the candidates’ proficiency in English based on comprehension passages and grammar. In the comprehension section, candidates will be questioned on their understanding of the passage and its central theme, meanings of words used therein etc. The grammar section requires correction of incorrect grammatical sentences, filling of blanks in sentences with appropriate words, etc.

2. General Knowledge and Currents Affairs

As far as general knowledge is concerned, the candidates will be tested on their general awareness including static general knowledge. Questions on current affairs will test candidates on their knowledge of current affairs (broadly defined as matters featuring in the mainstream media between March 2014 and April 2015)

3. Mathematics

This section will test candidate’s knowledge on elementary mathematics, i.e. maths taught up to Class X.

4. Legal Aptitude

This section will test candidate’s interest towards study of law, research aptitude and problem solving ability. Questions will be framed with the help of legal propositions (described in the paper), and a set of facts to which the said proposition has to be applied. Some propositions may not be “true” in the real sense (e.g. the legal proposition may be that any person who speaks in a movie hall and disturbs others that are watching the movie will be banned from entering any movie theatre across India for one year). Candidates will have to assume the “truth” of these propositions and answer the questions accordingly.

5. Logical Reasoning

The purpose of the logical reasoning section is to test the candidate’s ability to identify patterns, logical links and rectify illogical arguments. It will include a wide variety of logical reasoning questions such as syllogisms, logical sequences, analogies, etc. However, visual reasoning will not be tested.

CLAT 2015 CALENDER

No.	Description of Specific Activities	Date and Day
1	Date of Issue of First Admission Notification	25thDecember, 2014 (Thursday)
2	Starting date for submission of online application form	1st January, 2015 (Thursday)
3	Last date for submission of filled-in online application form	31th March, 2015 (Tuesday) by 11.59 P.M.
4	Download of Admit Cards/Hall Tickets	From 15th April, 2015 (Wednesday)
5	Date of CLAT Online examination -2015	10thMay, 2015 (Sunday)
6	Declaration of results i.e. issue of Merit List (Category-wise) along with the notice to the candidates for indicating their choices of University preferences using online candidate portal.	20th May, 2015 (Wednesday)
7	Dates for indicating University-wise preference	21st-25th May, 2015 (Thursday – Monday)
8	Publication of first Indicative seat allocation list	31st May, 2015(Sunday)
9	Dates for payment of counselling fee	4th-10th June, 2015 (Thursday- Wednesday)
10	Publication of second all otment list after for payment of counselling fee	15th June, 2015 (Monday)
11	Dates for locking of allotted seats or exercising option for up-gradation or for withdrawing from the Admission Process against second allotment list.	16th -19th June, 2015 (Tuesday-Friday)
12	Publication of third allotment list.	22nd June, 2015 (Monday)
13	Dates for admission against allotment list to be completed by the participating NLU(s)	24th-27th June, 2015 (Wednesday-Saturday)
14	Dates for receiving details of vacancies from the participating NLU(s)	up to 28th June, 2015 (Sunday)
15	Publication of Fourth and final allotment list with up-gradated and wait listed candidates.	1st July, 2015 (Wednesday)
16	Dates for admission against Fourth allotment list.	upto 2nd -4th July 2015 (Thursday-Saturday)
17	Date of Closure of CLAT-2015 office.	6th July, 2015 (Monday)

CLAT-2015 Computer Based (Online) Examination

1	What is Computer Based Examination (Online mode)?
A.	It is a Computer Based Exam which will be conducted using the Local Area Network (LAN) to make it safe, secure and un-interrupted.
2	What are the advantages in opting for Computer Based Examination?
A.	Computer Based Examination’s Advantages The candidate can review or re-answer any question at any point of time during the examination. The candidate can change the option of the answer during the exam duration and it is one of the most important feature of computer based examination The candidate also has the option to mark any answer for review at later stage during the examination. There will be a panel on computer screen showing all the question nos in different colour scheme which will indicate which are the questions answered, left un answered and marked for review It will make Candidate feel confident on use of Information technology.
3	Is Computer Based Examination based on Internet?
A.	No
4	What are the date for Computer Based Examination?
	The date of examination are 10th May 2015.
5	What will be the time of computer based examination?
A.	The exam will be in one shift from 03.00 PM- 05.00 PM Hours [IST].
6	What computer knowledge is required to appear for Computer Based Examination ?
A.	The candidate need to know only how to use computer mouse. That is at the most required.
7	Can a candidate get an examination center of his/her choice?
A.	The Candidate can opt for city of his/her choice as per list of computer based exam cities at the time of filling application form only.
8	How secure is the computer based examination?
A.	It is very secure with zero error possibility as human intervention is minimal.
9	How a candidate can practice for Computer Based Examination?
A.	The Mock Test will be available on CLAT – 2015 website. The Candidate can download the same and practice as many times as he/she wants. This will give look and feel of the format of Computer Based Exam in simulation environment.
10.	What will happen in case there is some problem in computer during the examination?
A.	There will be enough buffer computers available at the examination centers to take care of such problems and the time lost in change of system will be duly compensated as each and every second will be recorded by the server.
11.	When will the result of Computer Based Examination be declared?
A.	20th May 2015.
12.	Will there be a question booklet like in offline examination?
A.	In Computer Based Examination the questions will appear on computer screen along with the answer options. Instruction page will also be displayed before the actual test begins. The time of reading of instructions will not be part of examination duration.
13.	Will a Candidate get the question paper of computer based examination as he/she gets in Pen and Paper based exam?
A.	Yes, the question paper along with the options marked will be mailed to each and every candidate after the exam schedule is over.
14.	In case of problem in computer etc will there be somebody to assist?
A.	Yes, there will be qualified IT professionals for technical support.
15.	How will a candidate answer a question in the Computer Based examination?
A.	There will four options of each question. The candidate has to click one of the options using computer mouse which can be reviewed or re- answered any time during the duration of the examination.
16.	How will a candidate come to know which are the questions left unanswered?
A.	There will be a panel on computer screen showing all the question nos in different colour scheme which will indicate which are the questions answered, left un-answered and marked for review.
17.	Can a candidate change his/her answer ?
A.	Yes, during the exam duration and it is one of the most important feature of computer based examination.
18.	If a candidate has selected medium of question paper as English but want to see question in Hindi for more clarity or vice-a-versa, is this possible ?
A	No.
19.	Will a candidate be getting some practice test? If yes, than how and when ?
A.	Yes, the mock test is available on CLAT-2015 website and can be downloaded for the practice. You can also practice free of cost thought web-based mock test. This will give you actual idea of the format of Online Exam (Computer Based Test i.e.CBT mode).
20.	Will a candidate get sheets/papers for rough work/calculations etc?
A.	Yes.
21.	Is there any call center support?
A.	Yes. There is a call center support for candidates appearing in computer based examination. The helpline number(s) will be available on the CLAT website.
22.	What will happen in case there is some problem in computer during the examination ?
A.	There will be enough buffer systems available in the examination center to take care of such problems and time lost in change of system will be duly taken care as each and every second will be recorded by the server.
23.	When will a candidate has to report at exam centre ?
A.	30 minutes before the exam time.
24.	How many sections are there in the test and How many questions are there in each of these sections?
A.	There will be four sections in the test. The sections are : English including Comprehension 40 Questions General Knowledge and Current Affairs 50 Questions Elementary Mathematics (Numerical Ability) 20 Questions Legal Aptitude 50 Questions Logical Reasoning 40 Questions Each question shall be carry 1 mark.
25.	Can I move back and forth between the five section?
A.	Yes.
26.	What is the duration of the test?
	The duration of test will be 120 minutes.
27.	Will there be negative marking in CLAT – 2015 exam?
A.	Yes, There shall be a Negative Marking wherein 0.25 marks will be deducted for each of the wrong answer.

Important Points To Be Noted By The Candidates

Information regarding details of intake, reservation and the courses offered along with the fee structure is available in the CLAT-2015 Information Brochure which can be seen on the CLAT-2015 website and the websites of the participating NLUs. The candidates are therefore advised to carefully go through the rules and fee structures of participating NLUs before filling the application form for UG as well as PG courses, and for the NRI/NRI Sponsored and Foreign National seats.
Information in the Information Brochure regarding intake, reservation, courses offered and the subjects taught at various levels including the areas of specialization, etc. are given in brief. For detailed information, the candidates are required to take a look at the information provided in the websites of the participating NLUs.
There shall be a centralized admission process for CLAT-2015 on the basis of merit-cum-preference. All admissions shall be centrally done through the Organizing University, i.e. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow. The information relating to various dates of the admission shall be placed on CLAT-2015 website (clat.ac.in) from time to time.
Definition of disability for the purpose of admission shall be in accordance with Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. Disability in the act is defined to include: Blindness, low vision, leprosy cured, hearing impairment, loco-motor disability, mental retardation or illness. A candidate will have to produce disability certificate from competent authority in accordance with the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, at the time of admission.
Candidates with disabilities appearing in the Common Law Admission Test shall be entitled to an additional time of 40 minutes.
The candidates having impairment and those who require a scribe to write the test should intimate the same at the relevant section in the Online Application Form, citing reasonable cause and attaching attested photocopies (by a Gazetted Officer) of the relevant supporting documents such as:
1. A certificate of impairment from the competent authority
2. A statement indicating whether the scribe will be brought by the candidate or to be arranged by the CLAT authorities. The educational qualification of the scribe should be at least one standard lower than 10+2.
3. A declaration from the candidates that they will not request at any point of time the scribe to help them with the answers other than the normal process of reading the questions and helping them click the correct answer. Further if they are bringing their own scribe, they will have to declare that the selected scribe fulfils all the pre-requisites.
4. Documentary evidence regarding the educational qualification of the scribe (e.g.. school certificate or school identity card)
5. A declaration from the scribe (if brought by the candidate) that the scribe complies with the pre’requisites and he/she will not in any way help the candidate answer any question in the paper, apart from his/her regular duty of reading out the questions and clicking the correct answers.
For details relating to the admission of NRI/NRI sponsored candidates and the number of seats available for them, please see the information provided by the participating NLUs in the CLAT-2015 Information Brochure and their respective websites. NRI status /NRI sponsorship certificate shall be required to be submitted by the candidate at the time of admission in the concerned participating university in the format as prescribed by the university.
Some of the Universities will admit the NRI candidates directly whereas others will do it through CLAT-2015. Please carefully read the information provided by the participating NLUs on the subject in the CLAT-2015 Information Brochure and on the CLAT-2015 website (clat.ac.in).
Only Indian nationals/NRIs are allowed to appear in the CLAT-2015. Foreign nationals are not permitted to appear in CLAT-2015. The foreign nationals desirous of taking admission to any course in any of the participating NLUs may directly contact the concerned University having seats for foreign nationals.
In the event of insufficient number of candidates opting to appear from a particular Test Centre, the Convener, CLAT-2015, reserves the right to cancel such a centre and shift the applicants to another nearby centre or to a centre according to the candidate’s second or third preference.
Information such as the category of candidate, the centre of the Entrance Test and the preferences for various universities
submitted by the candidates through Online Application Mode shall be final and will not be changed thereafter.
Allotment of seats will be made on merit-cum-preference basis according to the information furnished in the Online Application Form and during the Counselling Session, the candidates are required to read the instructions carefully and furnish correct and authentic information. In case the information furnished at any stage of admission process is found false or incorrect or there is any discrepancy or mismatch between the information furnished by the candidate at the relevant section and the certificates/documents produced at the time of admission, the provisional admission offered to the candidate shall be cancelled as per the declaration given in the Online Application Form and at other relevant places without assigning any further reason.
The basic principle of admission through CLAT-2015 is merit-cum-preference. However, if a candidate, at any stage of the allotment process, wants to forego his claim for the next higher preference and wants to stay with and take admission in the allotted University, or wants to
quit from the admission process he/she will be given the option to do so. To exercise this option, the candidate will have to mention the same within the prescribed time limit. However, this option exercised once by the candidate will be treated as final and irrevocable, and the candidate will be deemed to have been admitted in the University opted by him/her or to be out of the admission process, as the case may be.
All offers of admission by CLAT-2015 shall be provisional and shall not create any right of admission in favour of a candidate. The organizing university will not be responsible for any inconvenience caused or expenditure incurred by the candidate on travel and stay, etc.
During the counselling session, it will be mandatory for all candidates to indicate their order of preference for all the participating Universities for the UG/PG programme . Choices once indicated will not be changed later. If a candidates fails to indicate him/her order of preference by stipulated date as notified in the CLAT Calendar, such a candidate will lose their right to participate in admission process.
The first indicative seat allocation list may comprise of some additional seats over and above the total available seats among the CLAT participating Universities. All these candidates shall be required to deposit the counselling fee to enable them to participate in the counselling process. If any candidate does not deposit the counselling fee by the stipulated date, he/she will lose his/her right to participate in admission process.
The candidates taking part in the counselling session after depositing the required amount of fee by the stipulated date and whose name appears in the waiting list, and later if such candidate fails to get a seat in any of the Universities due to non-availability of vacancy, the entire amount of 50,000/-deposited by such candidates will be refunded to him/her without any deduction.
In order to claim the benefit of reservation under state quota (based on one’s domicile), the candidate must produce the original certificates (i.e. SC/ST/OBC/EBC/BC/PWD/Dependants of Freedom Fighters/Dependants of Defense Personnel etc. and Domicile Certificate) issued by competent authority as required under the rules of the concerned State Government at the time of admission. The scanned copy of the same is also to be uploaded alongwith the online application form.
In order to claim the benefit of reservation under All India OBC/SC/ST/PWD Category the candidate must produce the caste certificates/respective certificates as prescribed by the Government of India at the time of admission. The scanned copy of the same be also uploaded alongwith the online application form.
As per the Ministry of Home Affairs (Government of India) Guidelines, Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) Card holders are entitled to the benefit of “Parity with Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in respect of economic, financial and educational fields except in relation to acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties. No parity shall be allowed in the sphere of political rights.” Accordingly, the PIO and OCI Card holders will be eligible for admission under the NRI seats available in some of the member National Law Universities. Such candidates can upload the scanned copy of the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)/Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) document at the relevant section issued to them by the Competent Authority.

FAQ Examination :

1.	What is the date of CLAT-2015 examination?
A.	The scheduled date of Common Law Admission Test – 2015 is 10th May, 2015 (Sunday).
2.	What is Online examination?
A.	It is a secured and un-interrupted Computer based test using LAN.
3.	Is online examination based on Internet?
A.	No
4.	Is there any requirement of computer skills?
A.	The candidate need to know only how to operate computer mouse. That is all required.
5.	Is there any special arrangement for Persons with Disability?
A.	Yes. Need based assistance shall be provided to the PWD candidates.
6.	Which kind of disable persons can take admission through CLAT-2015?
A.	Definition of disability for the purpose of admission shall be in accordance with Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. Disability in the act is defined to include: Blindness, low vision, leprosy cured, hearing impairment, loco-motor disability, mental disability or illness. A candidate will have to produce disability certificate from competent authority in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
7.	Is there any provision of extra time for the Persons with Disabilities appearing in CLAT-2015?
A.	Yes, Candidates with disabilities appearing in the CLAT-2015 shall be entitled to an additional time of 40 minutes.
8.	What will be the medium of Online examination?
A.	Medium of examination is English.
9.	How can I practice for Online examination?
A.	You can practice free of cost through web based mock test which will be available on www.clat.ac.in. This will give you an actual idea of the format of Online Exam (Computer Based Test i.e. CBT mode). It can also be downloaded and can be installed on local computer.
10.	What will happen in case there is some problem in computer during the examination?
A.	There will be enough buffer systems available in the examination centre to take care of such problems and time lost in change of system will be duly taken care of as each and every second will be recorded by the server.
11.	In case of problem in computer etc will there be somebody to assist?
A.	Yes, technically qualified people will be available at the centre.
12.	Will I get sheets/papers for rough work/calculations etc?
A.	Yes, but no electronic devices are allowed in examination hall/room.
13.	Should I send the print outs of the application to the CLAT office (Dr. RML National Law University) by post?
A.	No, the applicant is not required to send a hard copy of the print out of his/her application to the CLAT office. However, it is strongly advised that the applicant keeps a hard copy of his /her application for his/her own record and future communication with the CLAT, if required.
14.	How will I get my admit card?
A.	The eligible candidate has to download his/her Admit Card from CLAT website (www.clat.ac.in). Please note that the admit cards will not be sent via e-mail or by post. They may also carry proof of their identity (issued by GOI or state government) such as identity card, voter identity card, driving license, and passport etc. to the venue of the examination.
15.	I have filled up the form successfully but now, can I change/correct the details as entered in the Application form?
A.	No change can be made at this stage in the application form. However if the time is still left for filing up the online application form, the applicant can resubmit corrected application with the prescribed fee. In this case a new ID will be generated by the system. The fee paid previously will not be refunded. The latest application shall be treated as final.
16.	If I got Blank/Zero Registration No after submission of application form then what I should do?
A.	It means that the application form has not been submitted successfully and you are required to apply afresh.
17.	What details should I retain after completion of successful submission of my form?
A.	The candidate must have:

Hard copy of the filled-in form.
Fee receipt detail
Auto generated ID and Password.

18.Can candidate apply for CLAT-2015 offline? A.No, a candidates can apply only through online mode.19. How can I get previous year question papers? A.Previous year question papers can be downloaded from CLAT website at the payment of Rs. 250/-through online mode only. No hard copy will be provided by the CLAT office. 20.Is there any negative marking in examination? A.Yes, 0.25 marks will be deducted for each wrong answer.21.What is the procedure of allotment of Law School for admission? A.During the online counselling session, the candidates will be required to fill up all the available choices of National Law Universities for the UG/PG course in order of their preference. Seats shall be allotted taking into consideration candidate’s choice and merit. 22. Can the candidate change his/her choice subsequently. A.No, Choice once indicated and submitted shall be treated as final. 23. Is there any seat available for NRI/NRI sponsored /foreign nationals candidates? A.Yes. In some of the participating Law Universities seats are available for NRIs/NRI sponsored/Foreign Nationals. Candidates are advised to refer to CLAT e-brochure. 24. Is there any minimum cut-off CLAT score prescribed for admission. A.No. There is no minimum cut-off score prescribed. Candidature of every candidate shall be considered in their respective category, in order of merit. 25. Is there any provision of transfer of a student from one participating university to another participating university subsequent to their admission through CLAT. A.No. CLAT rules do not provide for such transfers. Up-gradation to the university of higher choice is done only by the CLAT office during the admission process. After the closure of admission process mobility shall not be possible.

Source; www.clat.ac.in