Gujarat National Law University

How is Gujarat National Law University ranked in 2026?

Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhinagar is currently ranked 2nd among law colleges in India by Outlook in its 2026 list, its strongest national placement to date. In the most recent NIRF Law rankings (2025), GNLU holds rank 5 with a score of 76.23, while India Today and The Week both placed it 3rd in their 2025 law rankings. Taken together, these results put GNLU firmly inside the top five National Law Universities in the country and confirm its standing as the leading law school in Gujarat.

The headline number for an aspirant judging GNLU in 2026 is its NIRF Law rank of 5, because NIRF is the Government of India's official framework and the figure most widely cited by recruiters, parents and the consortium of NLUs. GNLU's climb to rank 5 in NIRF 2025 (released on September 4, 2025), combined with the Outlook 2026 rank of 2, signals an institution on a clear upward trajectory rather than one merely holding station.

Year-Wise Rankings

The table below brings together GNLU Gandhinagar's verified rankings across the major Indian ranking bodies and years, so you can see exactly where the university sits with each agency rather than relying on a single headline figure. It answers the question 'what rank does GNLU actually hold, and by whom?' Read it body-by-body: NIRF is the official government ranking, while Outlook, India Today and The Week are influential media rankings, each using its own methodology. The Score column carries the NIRF composite score where published; media rankings publish ranks rather than comparable scores, so those are marked NA.

The clearest takeaway is consistency at the top combined with a recent jump: GNLU has stayed inside the NIRF top eight every year since 2021 and broke into the top five in 2025 at rank 5 with a score of 76.23. The media rankings tell an even more flattering story, with India Today and The Week parking GNLU at rank 3 across both 2024 and 2025, and Outlook pushing it from rank 4 in 2024 to rank 2 in 2026. For an applicant, the spread across bodies (rank 2 to rank 5) is itself the signal: GNLU is a stable top-five law school however you slice the data.

Ranking Trajectory of Gujarat National Law University

GNLU's NIRF Law trajectory reads 6 (2021), 8 (2022), 7 (2023), 8 (2024) and then a decisive 5 (2025). The standout move is the 2025 result: GNLU climbed three spots to rank 5 in the NIRF 2025 Law category, up from rank 8 in 2024, with a score of 76.23, and in doing so it replaced Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI Delhi) at the 5th position. GNLU was also ranked 1st in Gujarat state by NIRF 2025, underlining its dominance within its home state.

That three-place leap is meaningful because NIRF scoring tightens sharply near the top, where small gains in research output, graduation outcomes and perception translate into visible rank changes. After hovering between rank 6 and rank 8 for four years, the jump to rank 5 in 2025 suggests GNLU's investments in research and placements are now registering in the official metrics rather than plateauing.

The media rankings reinforce, rather than contradict, this rise. India Today and The Week held GNLU at rank 3 in both 2024 and 2025, while Outlook lifted it from rank 4 in 2024 to rank 2 in its 2026 ranking. When the government framework and three independent media surveys all place an institution between rank 2 and rank 5 in the same window, the trajectory is best read as a genuine consolidation inside the elite tier of National Law Universities, not a one-off spike.

How Gujarat National Law University Compares

The table below positions GNLU against the law schools ranked immediately around it in the NIRF 2025 Law list, which is the fairest like-for-like comparison because every institution is scored on the same official parameters. It answers the practical question an aspirant asks: 'who finishes above GNLU, and who did GNLU overtake?' Read it top-down as the NIRF 2025 Law order; GNLU's entry at rank 5 is the line to anchor on.

The comparison shows GNLU has effectively joined the established 'big four' NLUs (NLSIU, NLU Delhi, NALSAR and WBNUJS) at the front of the table, sitting at rank 5 just behind WBNUJS Kolkata at rank 4. Crucially, GNLU did not simply hold a seat already at the top: it displaced Jamia Millia Islamia from the 5th spot in NIRF 2025, which is the kind of head-to-head gain that distinguishes a rising school from a static one. On the international side, GNLU does not currently feature in the QS World University Rankings 2026 for Law and Legal Studies, where only eight Indian institutions (led by O.P. Jindal Global University at rank 35) earned places; for now, GNLU's strongest evidence of standing is its domestic top-five position rather than a global band.