The All India Bar Examination XXI (AIBE 21) was held offline on 7 June 2026. This analysis comes from a question-by-question reading of the English Set D paper (code AX-2026/1-XI). It covers what was asked, how it was weighted, how hard each subject was, and an answer key with quick reasoning.
Main Article: AIBE 22 Exam 2026: Complete Guide to Dates, Registration, Syllabus, and Eligibility
About this analysis. Every question was classified by subject by our team. Difficulty ratings are our own estimates from the paper itself, not candidate score data. The answer key is unofficial: it is built from the statute and settled case law, and each answer carries a confidence mark. Question numbers refer to Set D; other sets may order questions differently, and we did not review them.
AIBE 21 at a glance
- Pattern: 100 questions, 1 mark each, no negative marking, 3 hours (about 1.8 minutes per question).
- Bare Acts: Bare Acts without notes were allowed in the hall.
- Our difficulty verdict: Moderate to Difficult. By our tally, about 27 questions were easy, 47 moderate and 26 difficult.
- Where the marks were: Constitutional Law, CPC, Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law and Evidence together made up exactly 50 questions.
Where the marks are, and how hard they are
HIGH SCORING — Easy, don’t skip this
Constitutional Law (14 marks)
Biggest subject on the paper and the easiest. Master this first for guaranteed marks.
THE BULK OF THE PAPER — Moderate, steady prep wins here
52 marks across 8 subjects — this is where you win or lose the exam
| Subject | Marks |
|---|---|
| Code of Civil Procedure | 10 |
| Criminal Procedure (CrPC/BNSS) | 10 |
| Criminal Law (IPC/BNS) | 8 |
| Evidence (IEA/BSA) | 8 |
| Contract, Specific Relief, NI Act | 6 |
| Arbitration | 4 |
| Taxation | 4 |
| Labour Law | 3 |
| IP + Cyber/IT Law | 4 |
| Torts | 1 |
These aren’t hard, they’re detailed. Bare Act familiarity and procedure charts cover most of this.
LOW MARKS, HIGH EFFORT — Difficult, prioritize by time left
Only ~24 marks total, but disproportionately hard
| Subject | Marks | Why it’s hard |
|---|---|---|
| Family Law | 8 | Small statutes, exact figures (fines, time limits) |
| Property & Land Laws | 4 | Dense provisions, fact-based problems |
| Administrative Law | 3 | Old case law, committee names |
| Professional Ethics | 4 | Bar Council rules, easy to mix up |
| Company Law | 2 | Technical procedure |
| Environmental Law | 2 | Niche sections |
| Consumer Protection | 2 | Fine legal distinctions |
| Motor Vehicles | 2 | Pure trivia (dates, rule numbers) |
| Jurisprudence | 1 | Abstract, hard to guess |
What this means for your prep time
- Lock in Constitutional Law first. It’s the single biggest, easiest block — 14 free-ish marks.
- Spend most of your study time on the moderate zone. It’s more than half the paper (52 marks) and rewards practice over memorization.
- Don’t over-invest in the difficult zone. It’s only ~24 marks total, spread thin across 9 subjects. Skim these once, memorize key numbers (fines, timelines), and move on — deep mastery here has a poor time-to-marks ratio.
Subject-wise analysis
Constitutional Law (14): the most scoring section
Ten of the 14 were easy. The paper covered PIL and locus standi (Q1, Q78), Article 21 cases (Q9 Parmanand Katara, Q67 Puttaswamy), Article 23 (Q15), separation of powers (Q20), advisory jurisdiction under Article 143 (Q39), the Ninth Schedule and basic structure (Q4), and ordinances (Q68). The one tough question was Q21, which needed recall of an English habeas corpus case. Parliament’s power to legislate outside the Union List also came up four times (Q17, Q47, Q71, Q96), so Articles 246–254 are worth revising well.
Answers : Q1 A · Q4 B · Q9 C · Q15 B · Q17 B · Q20 D · Q21 C · Q39 C · Q67 D · Q68 D · Q71 B · Q78 A · Q96 B · Q98 B
Code of Civil Procedure (10): steady and moderate
Nine of 10 were moderate, testing procedural mechanics rather than obscure trivia. Topics included abatement and setting it aside (Q6), withdrawal of suits (Q22), ex parte decrees (Q32, Q44), wrongly impleaded defendants (Q33), striking out pleadings (Q51), costs under Section 35B (Q93), transfer of suits (Q87) and third-party claims in execution (Q12).
Answers: Q6 B · Q12 C · Q16 B · Q22 B · Q32 C · Q33 B · Q44 A · Q51 A · Q87 C · Q93 A
Criminal Procedure and Criminal Law (18 combined)
The paper mixed old and new codes almost evenly:
- New laws: 5 BNSS and 4 BNS questions.
- Old laws: 5 CrPC and 4 IPC questions, still framed with the old section numbers (CrPC ss. 2(a), 57, 125, 167; IPC ss. 120A, 362, 378).
- What the new-code questions tested: community service (Q43), defamation punishment (Q41), organised crime and forfeiture (Q59), terrorist act (Q66), plea bargaining timelines (Q60), judgment delivery timelines (Q30) and audio-video recording of search and seizure (Q94).
Answers, Criminal Procedure: Q24 A · Q25 D · Q27 A · Q30 B · Q31 A · Q40 B · Q45 B · Q60 C · Q88 B · Q94 A
Answers, Criminal Law: Q28 D · Q41 B · Q43 D · Q59 A · Q66 A · Q72 A · Q77 A · Q100 A
Evidence (8)
Four questions were on the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (Q29, Q49, Q57, Q62) and two on the old Evidence Act (Q10, Q18). Electronic records ran as a thread: Q10 (Section 65B), Q49 (Section 63(4) certificate), Q48 (IT Act offences) and Q85 (definition of ‘electronic record’). That makes four questions on digital evidence and technology law.
Answers: Q5 A · Q10 D · Q18 A · Q29 B · Q49 C · Q57 A · Q61 A · Q62 B
Family Law (8): the hardest section
Five of 8 were difficult, mostly because they concerned smaller statutes and exact figures: the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act (Q8), the Indian Christian Marriage Act (Q64), the Special Marriage Act (Q82), the Guardians and Wards Act (Q90), the Dowry Prohibition Act (Q14, Q89), the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (Q95) and the Uttarakhand UCC Rules, 2025 (Q99). We found no Muslim law or Hindu Marriage Act question in this set.
Answers: Q8 B · Q14 D · Q64 C · Q82 B · Q89 B · Q90 B · Q95 B · Q99 C
Contract, Specific Relief and NI Act (6)
These were application-based problems: a surety (Q75), a contract during war (Q52), restraint of trade (Q79) and capacity on a promissory note (Q65). The Specific Relief Act appeared twice (Q46, Q54).
Answers: Q46 C · Q52 D · Q54 C · Q65 A · Q75 C · Q79 A
Arbitration (4)
All four were bare-act questions: Section 5 (Q56), Section 20 (Q35), Section 25 (Q7) and the tribunal’s power on jurisdiction (Q34). These are quick marks for anyone who has read the Act.
Answers: Q7 C · Q34 B · Q35 C · Q56 D
Property and Land Laws (4)
Three of the four were difficult. Land acquisition featured twice (Q11, Q58, including the Scheduled Tribes land scenario). The other two were Transfer of Property Act problems on perpetuity (Q26) and mortgage by conditional sale (Q86).
Answers: Q11 B · Q26 D · Q58 C · Q86 A
Taxation (4)
All four were framed under the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force on 1 April 2026 and replaced the 1961 Act, but income earned before that date stays under the older Act, which is why the paper still used it. Watch how AIBE 22 frames tax questions.
Answers: Q37 B · Q63 C · Q70 A · Q92 A
Professional Ethics (4)
This section is small but efficient: it all sits within the Advocates Act and the Bar Council rules. Topics were misappropriation of client money (Q69), Rule 8 (Q80), the ban on contingency fees (Q83) and the Disciplinary Committee’s composition (Q97). Q83 practically states the rule in its own stem.
Answers: Q69 D · Q80 C · Q83 A · Q97 C
Everything else
- Administrative Law (Q38, Q42, Q74): rewarded recall of who said what, or which committee recommended what. Answers: Q38 B · Q42 C · Q74 C
- Labour Law (Q2, Q50, Q81): three moderate questions, including the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. Answers: Q2 A · Q50 C · Q81 A
- Company Law (Q53, Q73): fast-track mergers and class action against oppression. Answers: Q53 D · Q73 D
- IP, Environmental, Consumer, Cyber, Torts, Motor Vehicles and Jurisprudence: one or two questions each. Answers: Q13 A · Q84 C · Q3 D · Q47 A · Q76 C · Q91 A or D · Q48 B · Q85 B · Q23 D · Q36 D · Q55 A · Q19 C
What made the paper hard
- Number and section recall. About 18 questions turned on a figure, date, fine, time limit or section number (for example Q14, Q24, Q60, Q64, Q82, Q89, Q99).
- Niche and recent law. Examples are the UCC Rules, HSRP and PUC rules, the Industrial Relations Code and the new criminal codes.
- Format.
- 14 questions used assertion-reason, statement-conclusion or multi-statement formats (5, 3, 3 and 3 respectively).
- 9 were “NOT/EXCEPT” questions (Q10, 11, 23, 28, 29, 49, 57, 62, 81).
- 9 were fact-situation problems (Q26, 46, 52, 54, 58, 65, 75, 79, 86).
- About 11 asked for a case, author or committee
The paper was easiest on Constitutional Law and the basics of Criminal Procedure. It was hardest on minor personal-law statutes, property and land, administrative law history and Motor Vehicles trivia. The Bar Council’s later decision to lower the qualifying marks (see below) is consistent with a paper that was harder than routine.
Not seen in Set D
We could not find a question on Muslim law, the Hindu Marriage or Succession Acts, Public International Law, Interpretation of Statutes, the Limitation Act or Legal Services Authorities. One paper does not define the syllabus, so do not skip these subjects.
Answer key: AIBE 21 Set D (unofficial)
This is the Bar Council of India’s Final Answer Key, common for all language versions, for the exam held on 7 June 2026. Two questions (Q91) carry two accepted answers, exactly as BCI published them.
| Q | Ans | Q | Ans | Q | Ans | Q | Ans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | 26 | D | 51 | A | 76 | C |
| 2 | A | 27 | A | 52 | D | 77 | A |
| 3 | D | 28 | D | 53 | D | 78 | A |
| 4 | B | 29 | B | 54 | C | 79 | A |
| 5 | A | 30 | B | 55 | A | 80 | C |
| 6 | B | 31 | A | 56 | D | 81 | A |
| 7 | C | 32 | C | 57 | A | 82 | B |
| 8 | B | 33 | B | 58 | C | 83 | A |
| 9 | C | 34 | B | 59 | A | 84 | C |
| 10 | D | 35 | C | 60 | C | 85 | B |
| 11 | B | 36 | D | 61 | A | 86 | A |
| 12 | C | 37 | B | 62 | B | 87 | C |
| 13 | A | 38 | B | 63 | C | 88 | B |
| 14 | D | 39 | C | 64 | C | 89 | B |
| 15 | B | 40 | B | 65 | A | 90 | B |
| 16 | B | 41 | B | 66 | A | 91 | A, D |
| 17 | B | 42 | C | 67 | D | 92 | A |
| 18 | A | 43 | D | 68 | D | 93 | A |
| 19 | C | 44 | A | 69 | D | 94 | A |
| 20 | D | 45 | B | 70 | A | 95 | B |
| 21 | C | 46 | C | 71 | B | 96 | B |
| 22 | B | 47 | A | 72 | A | 97 | C |
| 23 | D | 48 | B | 73 | D | 98 | B |
| 24 | A | 49 | C | 74 | C | 99 | C |
| 25 | D | 50 | B | 75 | C | 100 | A |
Source: AIBE-XXI Final Answer Key (Common for All Languages), Set Code D, Exam Date 7 June 2026, published by the Bar Council of India.
What happened afterwards
BCI declared the AIBE 21 results on 18 July 2026, with 65.92% of candidates qualifying. The qualifying marks had been fixed at 45 for General and 40 for SC/ST/PwD candidates. After reviewing the question paper and result summary, the monitoring committee moderated the result and lowered the qualifying marks by three.
How to prepare for AIBE 22
AIBE XXII was reported for 29 November; please confirm the date on the official BCI website.
- Learn to navigate Bare Acts fast. Many recall questions (fines, time limits, sections) can be checked if you know the Act’s structure, so practise using the index.
- Study old and new codes side by side. Keep a comparison chart for IPC/BNS, CrPC/BNSS and Evidence Act/BSA.
- Don’t skip the small statutes. Personal-law and social-legislation Acts cost the most marks here.
- Keep a one-line ratio for about 60 cases in Constitutional, Evidence, Administrative and Ethics.
- Practise the awkward formats: assertion-reason, statement-conclusion and “NOT” questions, with a time target of under two minutes each.
- Track recent law: the Labour Codes, the Income-tax Act, 2025 and state UCC rules.
Recommended Reads:
All India Bar Examination (AIBE) | Set of 13 Books Covering 33 Acts | Previous Paper Solution Book
