HNLU: Choose what you want to be

I enrolled in this course with the aim to prepare for judicial services. The 5 years course provides a comprehensive study of all the major laws along with arts subjects like sociology, political science and economics. The course has a 7 CGPA assessment method with honours, language, optional and regular papers having different weightage. Instead of bare reading of provisions, an in depth and analytical study is encouraged which prepares the students for different fields like litigation, judicial services and the corporate world.

The university has semester system and the fees is Rs. 115500 per semester for the current fourth year batch. This includes all the heads like library fees, IT fees and exam fees. However, it keeps on increasing every year and the fees for first year students is on a higher scale. Additionally, we have to pay mess fees which is currently Rs. 20,727 for all the batches but it might be changed on yearly basis subject to the tender with the mess contractor. The university provides scholarship on merit cum means basis. To avail this, the student has to have minimum 5 CGPA in the previous semester and an annual income of less than Rs. 7 Lakhs. The students are selected on the basis of their academic performance for the number of slots available. Besides, the university keeps the students updated about the scholarships provided by external authorities and supports with the necessary documentation.

The university conducts an annual cultural and sports fest "Colossus" every in October which attracts a large number of outside students as well. The fest become more grand with the performance of renowned singers. The campus has a physical library with a variety of books along with an e-database available to every student. It provides access to various national and international journals like SCC, Manupatra, Heinonline, Lexis Nexus etc. The campus is fully WiFi enabled including classrooms and hostel rooms. The classes are air conditioned along with availability of projectors. The university has a sports supportive atmosphere and students go for inter college tournaments all over India. There are a number of student run clubs and blogs. 'Books and Beyond' is a club for literature enthusiasts. 'Dogs of Hnlu' is a club for taking care of and sheltering the dogs in the campus.

I gave Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) in 2020 but could not crack it. I reappeared in 2021 and got selected for HNLU in vacant seats. The university gives admission on the basis of CLAT examination which is conducted every year by Consortium of NLUs. There is around 50% reservation for domicile of chattisgarh and rest are all India seats. The admission is given on the basis of rank. For all India category, the cut off rank usually goes around 750 and domicile rank fluctuates every year.

There are 3 sections in every batch and each section accommodates maximum of 60 students. The sections remain same throughout the 5 years. Each section has seperate faculties for different subjects. Depending on the subject and the number of faculties available, every section may have same faculty for a particular subject or they might be different. The faculty student relationship depends on the particular faculty. From second to fifth year, the academic weightage is divided into three components. They have an Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA) of 15 marks which might be any research paper, movie making or paper presentation. Secondly, a mid semester exam is conducted for 25 marks and then end semester is for 60 marks making the tally 100. From academic session 2024-25, the university has implemented a new policy for first year students who have a moot court memo submission and presentation along with end term exam. The CIA and mid semester policy has been revoked for them.