Please be honest with me.

I've done my LLB & LLM from DU. I am a gold medalist in both those courses. Due to family circumstances I sadly would not be able to pursue my Ph.D from abroad. I'm left with the option of Jindal or NLS, if I genuinely want to pursue at the best institute of the country.

However, in both those case. Jindal only takes in candidates that have a LLM from abroad. NLS only takes in candidates from NLS,NALSAR or NLUD. Therefore, does a non-nlu student like me, despite having excellent records have a chance ?

Should I even try to apply at Jindal & NLS knowing that there is a clear partiality at these institutions. Or should I try for other NLUs or IITs if I want to be the best ??

Please provide a helpful and honest reply.

NLS takes candidates from other places too, although they may take longer than expected in clearing your PhD depending on the equation between your guide and the VC. You should ask around for good guides in the subject where you wish to work on and proceed from there. Don't go institution-wise, but try to go guide-wise instead. In India, the thesis quality and content and resulting publications matter more than the institution where you do your PhD from. You can try for NALSAR, NLUD, NUJS, even NLUJ (if you can get the NLUJ VC for example as guide). You can also try JNU, DU for PhD. If you crack NET and get JRF, then most public universities will be eager to get you provided your proposal is a decent one.

there is no policy at jindal for taking only foreign llms as PhD candidates. neither at nls. perhaps foreign llms will be preferred if you're applying for a faculty position, but even that can be made up for with excellent research and publications. best of luck!