What is AILET?

The All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) exam is the annual entrance exam conducted by the National Law University (NLU) Delhi for the following law programs that it offers:

• B.A.LL.B. (Hons.)
• LL.M.
• PhD.

This exam is held on a national level. In addition to NLU, Delhi, several top law colleges and universities recognise the AILET exam and accept its scores for admission to their law courses. Some of the leading law colleges accepting AILET scores are as follows:

• Xavier Law School, Xavier University Bhubaneswar (XUB)
• Faculty of Law, SRM University, Sonepat
• ISME Law College, Bangalore
• School of Law, The Northcap University, Gurugram
• School of Law, Ansal University, Gurgaon
• Lloyd Law College, Greater Noida

AILET 2023- Exam Dates (Out)

The NLUD will conduct AILET for entry into the B.A.LL.B. (Hons.), LL.M., and PhD programmes for the 2023–2024 academic year on Sunday, December 11, 2022, from 11:00 AM- 12:30 PM. The applications for registration opened on September 7, 2022, and closed on November 20, 2022.

Eligibility

To be eligible to sit for the AILET 2023 examination, the following are the eligibility criteria for different courses:

Course	Eligibility Criteria
B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) (Five-Year Programme)	General Category- Minimum 45% in the 10+2 or an equivalent exam.
	SC/ST/PWD Candidates- Minimum 40% in the 10+2 or an equivalent exam. Candidates appearing for the 12th grade final examination in 2023 are also eligible to apply.
LL.M. (One Year Programme)	General Category- An LL.B. or an equivalent law degree with a minimum of 50% aggregate score. SC/ST/PWD Candidates- An LL.B. or an equivalent law degree with a minimum of 45% aggregate score. Candidates taking their final LL.B. exams in 2023 are also eligible to apply.
PhD. Programme	General Category- An LL.M. or an equivalent law degree with a minimum of 55% aggregate score. SC/ST/PWD Candidates- An LL.M. or an equivalent law degree with a minimum of 50% aggregate score.

Number of Seats

NLUD offers a total of 123 seats for the B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) Course and 81 seats for the LL.M. program. The seat matrix follows a 110+10 seat pattern, out of which 110 seats are available for candidates based on AILET 2023 merit; 5 seats, each, are set aside for Foreign Nationals and OCI/PIO for merit-based direct admission. The reservation of seats in NLUD for B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) Course through AILET 2023 merit is given below:

• C. applicants- 15%
• T. candidates- 7.5%
• Persons with Disabilities (PWD)- 5%
• Residents of Jammu & Kashmir- 2 additional seats, over and above the total number of seats
• Kashmiri Migrants- 1 additional set over and above the total number of seats

Similarly, for the LL.M. programme, a 70+10 seats pattern is followed, out of which 70 seats would be filled based on AILET 2023 merit list, while 5 seats, each, are reserved for Foreign Nationals and OCI/PIO for merit-based direct admission. The reservation criteria in the AILET 2023 merit list are as follows:

• C. applicants- 15%
• T. candidates- 7.5%
• OBCs (Non-Creamy Layer)- 22%
• Economically Weaker Section (EWS)- 10%
• PWD- 5%
• Kashmiri Migrants- 1 additional set over and above the total number of seats

For PhD programme, the seat matrix is 14+2 (UGC-JRF- 5 seats, AILET Merit -5 seats, Fellowship through AILET Merit -4 seats and Foreign Nationals-2 Seats). UGC-JRF-qualified candidates and Foreign Nationals are exempted from the AILET 2023. The University shall follow the UGC Regulations on Reservations for admission of candidates to the PhD programme.

Admit Cards (Out)

AILET 2023 admit cards were released on November 25, 2022, which can be downloaded from the official website of NLUD. Candidates must provide a government-issued photo I.D. and their admission card on the day of the exam.

Exam Fees

AILET 2023 application forms cost INR 3,500 for the General and OBC Category candidates and INR 1,500 for the SC/ ST/ PWD Categories.

Exam Pattern

AILET 2023 will be a pen-and-paper exam. Due to the limited seats in the conducting University, it is considered one of the most competitive law entrance exams after the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). 

The exam duration is 1 hour 30 minutes, and the question paper would have a total of 150 MCQ (multiple-choice questions). Each question would carry 1 mark, and the candidate would lose 0.25 marks for every wrong response. 

Exam Syllabus

The syllabus for AILET 2023 for the B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) and LL.M. programmes has been updated. Following are the details of course-wise syllabi:

AILET 2023- B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) Syllabus

As per the modified syllabus, Mathematics and Legal Reasoning sections have been removed, and the exam now has only three sections, which are as follows:

• Section A- English Language (50 marks)
• Section B- Current Affairs and General Knowledge (30 marks)
• Section C- Logical Reasoning (70 marks)

As can be analysed from the distribution of marks, the logical reasoning section now carries almost 50% of the total weightage. Hence, this aspect needs to be strengthened and prioritised to ensure an eligible rank on the entrance test. The examination will not require any form of legal expertise or technical understanding, but the logical reasoning component may make use of legal ideas to gauge the applicant’s logical aptitude.

Furthermore, in the event of multiple applicants having identical scores on the AILET 2023 merit list, then:

• The candidate with the highest score on the AILET 2023 Logical Reasoning section will be selected.
• If the deadlock still exists, the older one will be chosen.
• If further, the merit remains unchanged, a random computerised draw of lots will be considered.

The past year's question paper can be downloaded here

Tips for Preparation

The following areas in the three different sections of the question paper must be emphasised to score well on the test:

• English Language:
• Grammar
• Vocabulary
• Reading Comprehension
• Word Usage
• Antonyms/Synonyms
• Inference-Based Questions



For assistance in English language preparation, the following books can be referred to:

• High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren and Martin
• Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
• Objective English for Competitive Examination by Tata McGraw Hill
• Objective General English by S P Bakshi

• Current Affairs and General Knowledge:

National/International Affairs

• Awards and Honors
• N. Bodies
• Sports
• Geopolitics
• Environmental Agreements and News

Reading newspapers daily and going through the Rajya Sabha discussions can be beneficial for this section. Books and Magazines that can be read are:

• World Focus
• India Year Book 2022
• Kurukshetra
• Yojna

• Logical Reasoning:
• Number Series
• Syllogism
• Directions and Seating Arrangement
• Clocks and Calendar Problems
• Critical Reasoning
• Analogy

For assistance in logical reasoning preparation, the following books can be referred to:

• Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning by RS Agarwal
• Legal Aptitude for the AILET and other Law Entrance Examinations by A.P. Bhardwaj

AILET 2023- LL.M. Syllabus

As per the revised format, the exam will be divided into two sections; section A will consist of objective-type questions, while section B will include descriptive-type questions. The format of the AILET 2023 LLM examination paper is as follows:

• Section A- 75 marks (divided into two parts):
• Part 1: English Language- (25 marks) (25 questions; 1 mark each)
• Part 2: Legal Reasoning- (50 marks) (25 questions; 2 marks each)
• Section B - 75 marks (10 questions covering various areas of law; any two need to be answered for a total of 75 marks)

Note: Section B will be evaluated only for candidates with at least 50% marks in each of the parts (Part 1 and Part 2) in Section-A. The final merit will be decided based on Section A and B combined scores.

If there are applicants with the same score on the AILET 2023 merit list, then the merit will be decided based on the following:

• Seniority of age
• Computerised draw of lots

The past year's question paper can be downloaded here.

AILET 2023- PhD. Syllabus

The AILET 2023 for admission to a PhD programme in law will be divided into two sections, with the question paper carrying a total of 90 marks. The pattern of the AILET 2023 PhD examination is as follows:

• Section A- 50 MCQs on legal knowledge and legal reasoning across different subjects of law (50 marks)
• Section B- One 50-mark subjective question. This section will assess the candidate’s research topics and technique for quality, practicality, and innovation (1 question; 50 marks)

The candidates must develop a research design to respond to the factual scenario provided in section B. The past year's question paper can be downloaded here.

Results

The results for AILET 2022 were declared on July 2, 2022. The highest scorer for AILET B.A. LL.B 2022 secured 107.5 marks, and for AILET LL.M 2022, the topper secured 78.75 marks.

Conclusion

To prepare for the AILET 2023, aspirants should practice as many questions and sample papers as possible. Candidates should also time themselves while attempting these mock tests to hone their speed and accuracy in the final examination. Investing in relevant study material can help aspirants ace the competition by deepening their understanding of the topics and getting a leg up on their preparation.

References