Legal Aptitude

The Legal Aptitude section in law entrance exams tests your legal “reasoning,” not legal “knowledge.” Legal Reasoning is a key component, carrying significant weight in terms of marks allotted. It involves questions based on legal propositions, where a set of facts and a principle of law are provided, and the principle must be applied to the facts. The section also includes a smaller portion on Legal Knowledge, featuring questions on legal facts and current events related to law. It aims to assess a student’s legal aptitude, research aptitude, and problem-solving ability. When technical or legal terms appear, they are explained within the text of the legal principle itself.

Till 2019, CLAT had a separate Legal Aptitude section comprising 50 questions, serving as a tie-breaker in case of equal scores. However, from 2020, this section was replaced by Legal Reasoning, as announced by the Consortium of National Law Universities.

Since 2020, CLAT no longer includes a separate Legal Aptitude section, replaced by Legal Reasoning. This change was detailed in a press release by the Consortium. The CLAT 2025-2026 exam is scheduled for December 07, 2025, with applications open from August 01, 2025, to October 31, 2025, featuring a 120-question pen and paper format, where Legal Reasoning constitutes 40 questions. In other law entrances like AILET and SLAT, students still need to prepare for a legal section.

Looking back at CLAT 2019, the Legal Aptitude section (now replaced) tested both prior legal knowledge and reasoning skills through principle-fact questions. Of the 50 questions, the first 35 were principle-fact based, while the last 15 focused on legal maxims. This structure is no longer applicable but offers insight into past trends.

Legal Reasoning Questions: These primarily draw from the Law of Torts, Law of Contract, and the Indian Penal Code. Here are examples from CLAT 2019:

Q. PRINCIPLE: Penal laws provide that whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man or woman shall be punished for rape.

FACTUAL SITUATION: A Police Officer found a man engaged in carnal intercourse with an animal. The Police Officer arrested the man and produced him before the Court.

Q. PRINCIPLE: Where one of the parties to a contract was in a position to dominate the decision of the other party, the contract is enforceable only at the option of the party who was in a position to dominate the decision of the other party.

FACTUAL SITUATION: A doctor asked his patient to make a payment of rupees Ten Lakh for treatment of his fever. The patient paid an amount of rupees Five Lakh and promised to pay the remaining amount after the treatment. After treatment, the patient recovered from fever. The doctor demanded the remaining amount from the patient. The patient refused to pay.

Legal Fact Questions: These test knowledge of legal facts, focusing on legal maxims, the Indian Constitution, landmark judgments, etc. Examples from CLAT 2019 include:

Q. In pari delicto means:

Q. Lex loci means:

The 2019 pattern gave significant weight to Legal Reasoning (70%) and Legal Knowledge (30%), but the current CLAT format has evolved. Aspirants should refer to the official CLAT notification for the latest details, as the exam’s unpredictability is a deliberate design by organizers. Although the Legal Aptitude section is discontinued for CLAT, preparation for legal topics remains crucial for other entrances.

An aspirant must keep the following Do’s and Don’ts in mind while preparing for and attempting the legal reasoning section:

Legal Reasoning remains a vital part of CLAT, integrated into the current 120-question format with 40 questions. Strengthening legal reasoning skills, legal facts, and general knowledge is essential for success, especially for aspirants targeting top NLUs.