AILET 2026 General category closing rank for BA LLB at NLU Delhi is AIR 71, eased from AIR 61 in AILET 2025, as NLU Delhi expanded its total UG intake to 123 seats for the 2026-27 batch.
National Law University (NLU) Delhi releases category-wise closing ranks after each round of All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) counselling. The AILET 2026 Third Merit List was published on February 4, 2026, finalising the 2026-27 admission cycle. Comparing closing ranks across General, OBC-NCL, EWS, SC, and ST categories for 2025 and 2026 shows you exactly what rank is needed to secure a seat at NLU Delhi.
- AILET 2026 BA LLB General category closing rank: AIR 71 (AILET 2025: AIR 61).
- AILET 2026 LLM General category closing rank: AIR 45, tighter than AIR 58 in 2025.
- NLU Delhi increased BA LLB seats to 123 for 2026-27, up from approximately 110 in 2025.
- AILET 2025 OBC-NCL closing rank for BA LLB: AIR 464; EWS: AIR 200; SC: AIR 1,400.
- AIR 1 for AILET 2026 is Aryan, who scored 142.5 marks out of 150.
AILET 2026 vs 2025 BA LLB Closing Ranks (Category-Wise)
The table below compares AILET 2026 and AILET 2025 closing ranks for the 5-year BA LLB (Hons) programme at NLU Delhi. AILET 2026 General category data is confirmed from the Third Merit List released February 4, 2026; reserved category projections are based on 2022–2025 trend analysis.
| Category | AILET 2025 Closing Rank | AILET 2026 Closing Rank | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| General (UR) | AIR 61 | AIR 71 | Eased by 10 ranks |
| OBC-NCL | AIR 464 | ~AIR 460–500 (expected) | Broadly stable |
| EWS | AIR 200 | ~AIR 195–215 (expected) | Broadly stable |
| SC | AIR 1,400 | ~AIR 1,350–1,500 (expected) | Broadly stable |
| ST | AIR 2,340 | ~AIR 2,300–2,500 (expected) | Broadly stable |
AILET 2026 vs 2025 LLM Closing Ranks
NLU Delhi offers 81 LLM seats for 2026-27. The General category LLM closing rank tightened from AIR 58 in 2025 to AIR 45 in 2026, reflecting sharper postgraduate competition despite unchanged seat intake. Reserved category LLM ranks for 2026 are expected near 2025 levels.
| Category | AILET 2025 Closing Rank | AILET 2026 Closing Rank |
|---|---|---|
| General (UR) | AIR 58 | AIR 45 |
| OBC-NCL | AIR 196 | ~AIR 185–210 (expected) |
| EWS | AIR 206 | ~AIR 195–220 (expected) |
| SC | AIR 471 | ~AIR 455–490 (expected) |
| ST | AIR 778 | ~AIR 760–820 (expected) |
AILET BA LLB Cutoff Closing Rank Trend 2022–2026
The table tracks category-wise closing ranks across five AILET admission cycles since the exam restarted in 2022, showing how competition at NLU Delhi has evolved.
| Category | AILET 2022 | AILET 2023 | AILET 2024 | AILET 2025 | AILET 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | AIR 142 | AIR 98 | AIR 66 | AIR 61 | AIR 71 |
| OBC-NCL | AIR 1,040 | AIR 565 | AIR 598 | AIR 464 | Expected ~AIR 470 |
| EWS | AIR 588 | AIR 613 | AIR 305 | AIR 200 | Expected ~AIR 200 |
| SC | AIR 2,406 | AIR 1,690 | AIR 1,689 | AIR 1,400 | Expected ~AIR 1,400 |
| ST | AIR 3,692 | AIR 3,079 | AIR 3,351 | AIR 2,340 | Expected ~AIR 2,400 |
Key observation: General category cutoffs tightened sharply from AIR 142 in 2022 to AIR 61 in 2025 as the AILET applicant pool grew each year. The slight easing to AIR 71 in 2026 coincides with NLU Delhi raising seats to 123. EWS closing ranks improved dramatically from AIR 588 in 2022 to AIR 200 in 2025, reflecting growing participation from this quota. SC and ST closing ranks have tightened consistently across all four completed cycles.
AILET 2026 vs 2025: Category-Wise Cutoff Analysis
General (UR) — BA LLB: The General closing rank eased from AIR 61 to AIR 71 between 2025 and 2026. NLU Delhi added approximately 13 more BA LLB seats for 2026-27, pushing the effective cutoff outward. Students at AIR 62–71 who were borderline in 2025 cleared the 2026 threshold without improvement in score.
General (UR) — LLM: The LLM General closing rank moved in the opposite direction, tightening from AIR 58 to AIR 45 in 2026. Since LLM seat intake was unchanged, stronger postgraduate applicant performance drove the cutoff down by 13 ranks.
OBC-NCL: The OBC-NCL closing rank improved from AIR 1,040 in 2022 to AIR 464 in 2025 — more than halving in three cycles. This reflects both a growing pool of OBC-NCL test-takers and consistently improving preparation. The 2026 closing rank is expected to remain near AIR 460–500 based on proportional seat reservation structure.
EWS: EWS closing rank dropped sharply from AIR 613 in 2023 to AIR 200 in 2025, one of the most significant tightenings across any category. The 2026 expected rank holds near AIR 200, indicating the EWS quota has settled into stable competition.
SC and ST: SC closing rank improved from AIR 2,406 in 2022 to AIR 1,400 in 2025 — a 42% tightening over four years. ST closed at AIR 2,340 in 2025, compared to AIR 3,692 in 2022. Both categories reflect rising participation and stronger academic preparation among students in reserved communities.
Factors That Affect AILET Cutoff Variation Between Years
- Seat intake: NLU Delhi increased BA LLB seats to 123 for 2026-27 from approximately 110 in 2025. This directly relaxed the General closing rank by around 10 positions while leaving reserved category proportions broadly unchanged.
- Applicant volume: A larger number of registered test-takers pushes reserved category closing ranks further out even when General cutoffs ease due to seat additions.
- Score distribution: AILET 2026 topper Aryan scored 142.5 out of 150, indicating a high-scoring cohort. Bunching of scores near the top compresses rank differences between applicants at the margin.
- Multiple merit list rounds: NLU Delhi releases three merit lists. Students who decline seats in earlier rounds shift the effective cutoff for each subsequent list. Final closing ranks typically differ from Round 1 figures.
- PwD horizontal reservation: Three seats within the General category are horizontally reserved for students with disabilities, reducing the effective unreserved pool in the General quota slightly.
AILET Cutoff 2026 vs 2025 FAQs
Ques. What is the AILET 2026 General category closing rank for BA LLB?
Ans. The AILET 2026 General category closing rank for BA LLB at NLU Delhi is AIR 71, as published in the Third Merit List on February 4, 2026.
Ques. How does the AILET 2026 cutoff compare to 2025 for the General category?
Ans. For BA LLB, the General closing rank eased to AIR 71 in 2026 from AIR 61 in 2025. For LLM, the cutoff tightened from AIR 58 in 2025 to AIR 45 in 2026, as LLM seats were not expanded.
Ques. What were the AILET 2025 closing ranks for OBC, SC, and ST in BA LLB?
Ans. AILET 2025 BA LLB closing ranks were AIR 464 for OBC-NCL, AIR 200 for EWS, AIR 1,400 for SC, and AIR 2,340 for ST.
Ques. Why did the General cutoff ease in AILET 2026 despite growing competition?
Ans. NLU Delhi added approximately 13 more BA LLB seats for 2026-27, bringing total intake to 123. This seat expansion absorbed more General category students, pushing the closing rank from AIR 61 to AIR 71 even as the overall applicant pool continued to grow.
Ques. When was the AILET 2026 Third Merit List released?
Ans. The AILET 2026 Third Merit List for BA LLB and LLM was released on February 4, 2026, on the official NLU Delhi website. Students had until February 10, 2026 to deposit the provisional admission fee.
Ques. What score did the AILET 2026 topper achieve?
Ans. AILET 2026 AIR 1 is Aryan, who scored 142.5 marks out of 150 in the entrance test.
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