National Law University Delhi

How is National Law University Delhi ranked in 2026?

National Law University Delhi is ranked NIRF Law Rank 2 with a score of 80.00 in the most recent NIRF 2025 rankings, the standing it carries into the 2026 admission cycle, and in March 2026 it made its debut in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 for Law and Legal Studies, entering the 201-250 global band with a subject rank of 223. The NIRF Rank 2 position is not a one-off: NLU Delhi has held it for 8 consecutive years, sitting immediately behind NLSIU Bengaluru. Beyond NIRF, NLU Delhi also placed at India Today Law Rank 3 (score 88.00) in 2025. The NIRF 2026 law rankings are expected to be released around June-July 2026, and on current form NLU Delhi is widely expected to defend its number two national position. For an aspirant, the short version is this: nationally NLU Delhi is the second-best law school in India by NIRF, top three by India Today, and now a globally ranked institution through QS.

The university's three headline credentials for 2026 are worth stating plainly: NIRF Law Rank 2 (80.00, 2025), India Today Law Rank 3 (88.00, 2025), and the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 debut in the 201-250 Law and Legal Studies band. These figures, not reputation alone, are what place NLU Delhi at the very top of the legal-education pyramid in India.

Year-Wise Rankings

The table below consolidates National Law University Delhi's verified rankings across the two main national bodies that assess it, NIRF (Ministry of Education) and India Today, plus its 2026 QS global debut. It answers the practical question every applicant asks: how has NLU Delhi actually ranked, by body, by category, and with what score, over the last two years. Read it body by body rather than top to bottom, because NIRF and India Today use different methodologies and therefore produce different numbers for the same university in the same year. Every rank below is tied to the exact year and ranking framework that produced it.

Two takeaways stand out for an applicant. First, NLU Delhi's NIRF Law rank held firm at 2 across both 2024 and 2025, even though its NIRF score eased from 82.70 in 2024 to 80.00 in 2025, a movement that reflects tighter national scoring rather than any slippage in standing. Second, the India Today figures show genuine upward movement, with NLU Delhi climbing from Rank 4 (87.20) in 2024 to Rank 3 (88.00) in 2025, while the 2026 QS entry adds an international dimension that none of these national tables previously captured.

Ranking Trajectory of National Law University Delhi

National Law University Delhi's ranking trajectory is best described as rock-steady at the top of the national table with fresh upward momentum on two fronts. On the NIRF Law list, NLU Delhi has occupied Rank 2 for 8 consecutive years, confirmed again at Rank 2 (80.00) in NIRF 2025 and Rank 2 (82.70) in NIRF 2024, behind only NLSIU Bengaluru. This 8-year streak is the single most important trend on the page: it signals that NLU Delhi's standing is structural and durable, not cyclical. The dip in its NIRF score from 82.70 in 2024 to 80.00 in 2025 did not cost it a single position, which tells an aspirant the rank is insulated against small year-on-year scoring shifts.

The India Today series shows the more dynamic story. NLU Delhi improved from India Today Law Rank 4 (87.20) in 2024 to Rank 3 (88.00) in 2025, a one-place climb backed by a higher score, indicating strengthening performance on the parameters that survey weighs. The clearest forward leap, however, is the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 debut in the 201-250 Law and Legal Studies band (subject rank 223), placing NLU Delhi on the global academic map for the first time. Taken together, the trajectory is one of unshakeable domestic ranking plus rising international and survey-based recognition. With NIRF 2026 due around June-July 2026, the trend points to continuity at Rank 2 nationally.

How National Law University Delhi Compares

Against its closest peers, National Law University Delhi sits firmly in the top tier of the NIRF Law 2025 table, second only to NLSIU Bengaluru. The comparison below uses verified NIRF 2025 Law scores for the three institutions that consistently form India's law-school podium, so an applicant can see exactly how tight the margins are at the top. The question it answers is direct: where does NLU Delhi stand relative to the schools an aspirant would realistically weigh it against, and by how much. Read the score column closely, because the gaps are small and tell the real story.

The numbers show NLU Delhi trails the national leader NLSIU Bengaluru by 2.97 points (82.97 versus 80.00) while leading third-placed NALSAR Hyderabad by just 0.50 points (80.00 versus 79.50). In practical terms, NLU Delhi is a clear and stable second nationally, close enough behind NLSIU to be a genuine alternative and far enough ahead in consistency that it has not surrendered Rank 2 in 8 years. In the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 for Law, among Indian National Law Universities only NLSIU ranks higher than NLU Delhi, reinforcing the same one-two hierarchy seen in NIRF.