Karnataka CLAT topper says mom pushed her to excel

BENGALURU: Anagha MV from Bengaluru has topped the state and bagged an all-India rank of 22 in

CLAT 2018

, results of which were announced on Thursday.

Anagha said her mother inspired her to take up law. “My mother is an income-tax official and she pursued a masters degree in business law from

National Law School of India University

(NLSIU), Bengaluru, two years ago. That is when we both decided the future course of my life. Last year, my CLAT rank was 900. Thanks to my mother’s constant motivation, I could achieve my dream this year,” she told TOI.

The exam was conducted by National Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi, on May 13. It’s the gateway to 19 premier law schools in the country, and over 54,000 students took the test this year. While Aman Garg from Jaipur is the national topper for the undergraduate level, Aayush Singhal from Jodhpur has clinched the top spot at the postgraduate level.

Though she is certain to join NLSIU, Anagha has not chosen her specialization yet. “I used to study for six hours after college but last year, I studied for about 14 hours. I also attended CLAT coaching at Career Launcher but last year, I only practised test series at home. I focused on current affairs because that’s where I didn’t score in my first attempt,” said the Bengaluru girl. Anagha studied commerce at Jain University, JC Road campus.

With an all-India rank of 31, Shashankaa Tewari from DPS North is the second

Karnataka topper

. Participating in Model United Nations debate competitions in school made him realize that law is his calling. “When I was in Class 9, I wanted to become a doctor. But after board exams, I took up commerce as I hated physics. I have always been an argumentative person. I wish to specialise in corporate law but am open to any other specialisation after studying for the first four years at NLSIU,” the boy said.

He also attended coaching classes at Career Launcher but started serious preparation only in March. “I could have topped the country if I hadn’t wasted time in Class 11,” he added.

Shashankaa claimed he lost about 30 minutes as the server crashed half an hour after the test began. He said he had to change computers and in the melee, ended up making around 10 mistakes. Shashankaa left the exam hall at 8.30pm, while the test was slated to end at 5 pm.

Karnataka’s performance has dipped this year. Last year, the 11th rank holder was from the state and in 2016, Bengaluru boy Viraj Ananth was the all-India topper.

Career Launcher mentor Amitendra Kumar said the results were unpredictable this year. “When the answer keys were announced, CLAT cancelled one question because it was wrong, so the evaluation total was 199 and not 200. Answer to another question was wrong (due to the examiner’s fault), so students who attempted it got 1.25 points. Overall, students who answered both these questions got 1.5 points. Also, technical glitches at many test centres impacted aspirants’ performance,” he said.

Colleges will allot seats based on counselling on June 7. Payments can be made till June 12.


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