Students from NLUs Launch Nationwide Petition Urging CLAT Fee Reforms Amid Accessibility Concerns

Student-led bodies and empowerment groups from premier National Law Universities (NLUs) across the nation have intensified their campaign for reforms to the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) fee structure, launching a public e-petition to challenge what they term as “economically exclusionary practices” by the Consortium of NLUs.

The initiative is rooted in longstanding concerns over disproportionately high application and counselling charges that, according to the petitioners, systematically disadvantage students from low-income and marginalised backgrounds.

The movement has gained momentum through the coordinated efforts of several student bar associations and intersectional equity groups, including the Savitribai Intersectional Study Circle (NALSAR), NALSAR Student Bar Council, NLSIU's Savitri Phule Ambedkar Caravan (SPAC), and similar representative bodies from DSNLU, DNLU, and NLIU Bhopal.

These organisations had, in 2024, submitted a formal representation to the Consortium, objecting to the fee regime’s discriminatory structure. However, with no tangible response from governing body, students have now expanded their advocacy, enlisting the support of alumni, faculty members, legal professionals, and parents.

At the centre of their protest are two core issues: the steep and non-refundable nature of counselling and seat confirmation fees, and the high cost of submitting a CLAT application. Candidates currently pay an application fee of Rs. 4,000 (Rs. 3,500 for reserved categories), and if shortlisted, must deposit Rs. 30,000 (Rs. 20,000 for reserved categories) to participate in the counselling process. An additional Rs. 20,000 is then charged as a non-refundable seat confirmation fee upon allocation.

Petitioners argue that these back-to-back financial commitments, particularly the non-refundable confirmation amount, can prove ruinous for aspirants from families earning under Rs. 10,000 per month.

What has triggered further concern is the lack of a reimbursement mechanism for students who do not secure a seat after paying the hefty confirmation fee. The rigid fee deadlines and absence of a refund policy are said to force many students to forfeit both money and seat due to practical difficulties in mobilising funds quickly.

The e-petition calls this a structural exclusion, especially when compared to more student-sensitive systems in place for national-level exams like JEE (Main), NEET, and CUET. For instance, the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) charges a refundable ‘seat acceptance fee’ (Rs. 34,000 for general and Rs. 17,500 for reserved categories), which is later adjusted against admission costs. No such mechanism exists in the CLAT system.

Further ammunition for the student protest comes from a Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) report, which, in its submission to the Supreme Court, criticized the CLAT Consortium for setting exorbitant application fees and generating up to 90% profit margins from form sales. The report deemed an application fee of Rs. 1,500 more reasonable for a national-level entrance exam, a benchmark far below the current CLAT charges.

The petition demands a complete overhaul of the fee structure, including substantial reductions, introduction of waivers, and alignment with national norms followed in other entrance examinations. In pushing for these changes, the student bodies aim not merely at cost reduction but at systemic reform that widens the path to legal education for first-generation learners, Dalit and Adivasi students, and others historically excluded from elite legal spaces.

The e-petition can be accessed and supported at: https://forms.gle/tzZTbMbuvQyKgMEo7