CLAT PG 2025: How two aspirants cracked the exam

The results of this year's Common Law Admission Test postgraduate (CLAT PG 2025) was recently revised, with 5 answers modified and 2 questions withdrawn..Bar & Bench's Hiranya Bhandarkar spoke with Sunidhi Sachdeva (AIR 1) and Shaan Jain (AIR 4) on how they undertook their preparation..Sunidhi Sachdeva [Rank 1].HB: What was your strategy for CLAT PG 2025?SS: I analysed the previous years' questions (PYQs) and this was my second attempt. I appeared last year and secured AIR 50 but I did not pursue LL.M as I had judiciary mains lined up and decided not to sail in two boats.During the analysis, I understood the weightage of each subject. They majorly ask questions from Constitutional Law, Jurisprudence, Criminal Law, Contract Law and Transfer of Property Act. However, CLAT is very unpredictable. They ask questions from Environmental law, Labour Law and Corporate Law, so I had different strategies. For Constitution, I had to revise the core parts like Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSPs). I made a list of all the landmark cases and the precedents that evolved to the landmark cases. .For Jurisprudence, I referred to a YouTube channel called YG Law. They had separate videos on each topic.For Criminal Law, I had notes prepared for the old laws, plus I looked at landmark and recent judgments. I did not study the new criminal laws comprehensively, but I did study the major changes that were there and the important provisions of each law. I was glad they did not ask major questions from the new laws.For non-conventional laws like taxation law, labour law, environment law, corporate law, I just did a reading of the bare acts since they do not form part of judiciary syllabus. I tried to find the useful cases that have evolved the subject. For Contract Law, Transfer of Property Act and Specific Relief Act, I did a bare act reading as well as the recent judgments..HB: Did you rely on any coaching or study groups?SS: I did not get much time as I began my preparation in mid-October. I took a little guidance from one of my teachers, but it was all because of the accumulation of what I had earlier studied during my judiciary preparation that helped me in cracking this exam..HB: How important was revision in your preparation? Did you have any specific techniques?SS: Revision forms the key for every competitive exam. Law is ever-evolving, so one has to keep themselves updated with the latest trends. I revised the subjects before I started the preparation. I didn't have a specific technique as such, but I was consistent enough to read every day..HB: Did you take any mock tests for your preparation?SS: I took one or two mock tests that were available for free on Telegram. I did not enrol myself for any mock programs.To be honest, I focused more on previous years' questions than on mocks. I analysed from PYQs that I needed to concentrate on some subjects more because I was fine-tuned with contract law or criminal law concepts. So I had to focus more on subjects that I had not studied for judiciary preparation.When I decided to take CLAT PG, I took the basic reading of those subjects like labour law, environment law, corporate law and doctrines..HB: How did you manage expectations, as you have been preparing for judiciary exams for two years now?SS: Once you begin to prepare for any competitive exam, you start to expect results out of your hard work, so there are certain expectations. One should have a very positive mindset while appearing for competitive exams, because when failures occur, one may get disappointed. You have to be very strong and say that if you do not make it this time, there is always the next time. When the initial result came in December, I had secured AIR 2, so that helped me regain my lost confidence..HB: Can you share any advice on what helped you throughout your preparation?SS: One should try to read the entire judgment and not just the case brief or summary. I realised that when I was preparing for Delhi Judiciary, when the entire judgement is read in detail, it actually opens up your mind, it develops your legal acumen and it increases your reading speed, which is a must for CLAT PG. You can dedicate one hour daily to read some part of the judgment and finish it in 3-4 days. It really helps to understand how the court applies the law on the facts..HB: Any advice for CLAT PG 2026 aspirants?SS: One thing I would do differently is prepare for the new criminal laws comprehensively as it has been a year since their enforcement. There are a lot of chances that they may ask bare act-based questions from the new laws and the associated recent cases from Supreme Court or High Courts..HB: How did you deal with uncertainty between the results, and the anxiety before the exam?SS: I just tried to maintain my routine. I practised yoga to maintain my calm. I kept up with the latest legal developments and revised the core subjects in which I was lacking..Shaan Jain [Rank 4].HB: What was your preparation strategy for CLAT PG 2025?Shaan Jain: As I was studying for various judicial services exams, most of my concepts were clear. CLAT PG has a different pattern. The first thing I did was look at PYQs in order to understand what kind of questions are generally being asked. After understanding the questions, I figured out the areas in which I lacked and the sections which I am not well-versed with, but have conceptual clarity.I started preparing by remembering the sections and particular landmark judgments, because I believe CLAT PG asks a lot of landmark cases and specific sections. Referring to reference books is not a good idea. We should go for guides like AK Jain or Samarth Agrawal, which are generally overlooked but contain really good material with respect to competitive exam preparation. It will not be a good idea to go for Avtar Singh for Contracts or Avtar Singh for Transfer Property Act or TSA Pillai for Criminal Laws. You need to understand what kind of questions are being asked and what kind of reference material to be used..HB: How important is following the current legal developments and recent judgments?SJ: I think there is a myth that if you follow the recent developments, you will be good to go for CLAT PG. Personally speaking, I prepared only 3-4 days with respect to legal developments, and my focus was with conceptual clarity and remembering the sections and developing reading speed and analytical power. If you want to prepare for recent judgments, the compendium issued by the Supreme Court Registry of landmark cases will suffice. Following Bar & Bench, LiveLaw and Supreme Court Observer will suffice. You are not required to prepare notes, just a week of preparation will be enough..HB: How often did you revise? Any specific revision techniques?SJ: Revision plays an important role; it is important to have brief notes on what you have to revise. For example, if I have to revise the Contract Act, I am going to consider the essential case first and its ratio. I had a list of the case laws that I have to remember, and I might have revised them for a minimum of five or six times until I had a good understanding of them. Same goes with sections. I had a list of relevant bare acts and laws and consistently revised them 5-6 times. It depends on the law. If the law is vast, it needs more revision but for something smaller like Sales of Goods Act, it might require lesser revision..HB: Did you ever feel the pressure of expectations during your preparation? How did you manage these?SJ: I did feel the pressure of expectation because my friends and parents were vouching for me. I think they fuelled my success; they acted as a motivation to study more and exceed my limits. I tried to study 7 hours a day using a stopwatch. At times it became difficult, but these expectations worked in my favour..HB: With 6 months remaining for CLAT PG 2026, if someone were to start preparation now, what would you suggest they do differently from your preparation?SJ: Not to pay heed to suggestions that CLAT PG is a very easy exam and you are not required to prepare for it very diligently. Such kind of advice is prevalent, and I wasted some of my days because of it. This should be completely avoided. Do not judge your preparation by the initial marks you get while attempting the PYQ. When I first gave the PYQ of 2023, I scored really well which gave me a false sense of achievement which can hamper your preparation. I would avoid such kind of feeling and give 4-5 PYQ and then assess your level of preparation.