Law College Dehradun inaugurated its “4th National Moot Court Competition” with full zeal and zest on 4th October, 2019 under the aegis of its Moot Court Society. The institute envisioned to integrate theory and practice and therefore organizes several Curriculum related activities to chisel industry ready solicitors. As a part of this Law College Dehradun organizes National Moot Court Competition every year and this year it was based on the theme ‘Constitutional Law’, including Personal Law and International Law. Hon’ble Ms. Justice Gyan Sudha Misra, Former Judge, the Supreme Court of India presided as the Chief Guest of the occasion while Mr. Manoj Thapliyal, Zonal Sales Head, P&B Pvt. Ltd., Uttarakhand and Mr. Akshay Rastogi, Deputy Branch Manager, Bank of Baroda, Dehradun, were present as the Guests of Honor along with our Hon’ble Chancellor Shri. Jitender Joshi, Vice Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) N.K. Joshi and Dr. Abhishek Joshi, Director – Student Affairs and IT Services. The most awaited flagship event of Law College Dehradun: The National Moot Court Competition, 2019 kick started officially with the felicitation and presentation of memento to the Chief Guest by the Hon’ble Chancellor. This was followed by lighting of the auspicious lamp and recital of Saraswati Vandana and University Kulgeet.
At the outset Principal and Dean Prof.(Dr.) Rajesh Bahuguna cordially welcomed the guests and the august gathering. He, in his speech, introduced the Chief Guest Hon’ble Justice Ms. Gyan Sudha Misra, the magnanimous personality, who has passed several landmark and notable judgements in the Supreme Court of India including judgements on conflict of interest in the Srinivasan-BCCI Matter, landmark Euthanasia Judgement – Aruna Shaunbaug Matter and most recently the Delhi Uphaar Fire Tragedy. During her entire tenure she has served as judge in Patna High Court, Rajasthan High Court and Jharkhand High Court. She, through her judgements, has portrayed her inclination towards the society by removing imbalances in social, educational, economic and political life of the people and protecting the rights of the weak, aged, destitute, women, children and other under-privileged people. Moving further he extended his heartiest welcome to guests off the dais, participants, faculty members and the students. He proudly acknowledged that ‘National Moot Court Competition’ of Law College Dehradun is well known amidst the mooting circuit of the nation and this time the event was attended by participants from 32 Universities from all over the country. In short, the event witness participation from every state of India. He conveyed his appreciation and wishes to the participants and assured that such events would help them to hone their analytical skills along with their oral skills, presentation skills and understanding the facts of law.
Hon’ble Chancellor Shri. Jitender Joshi, in his address, appreciated the participants for their passion and encouraged them to enhance their advocacy skills. Vice Chancellor, Prof. (Dr.) N.K. Joshi welcoming the guests and participants quoted that the event would enable the students to excel and gain an experience to move ahead in their chosen profession. He also took pride in stating that Law College Dehradun has a history of producing 33 judges till date. Mr. Thapliyal, Manager from Price & Buckland, felt privileged and honored to be present on the occasion and wished good luck for the participants.
Hon’ble Justice, Ms. Gyan Sudha Mishra, at the outset, thanked the organizers for inviting her to be a part of the event. Her Ladyship held the audience with her wise words, regarding the legal profession, its honor and how it is misunderstood by the common people. She emphasized the importance of Moot Courts for law students and considered it a boon for the current generation who has the opportunity to learn through a practical approach. It is also essential to strike a balance between time management and delivering of content. Analytical skill, Clarity of thought and sound reasoning is a court craft that can be learnt only through moot court practices. She also wished Directive Principles of State Policy becoming justifiable in future as it ensures executive accountability.
Following this, Ms. Anna Anu Priya, President, Moot Court Society thanked the guests of the evening and welcomed the participants of the Competition. She, then, formally declared the ‘4th National Moot Court Competition’ open. The event witnessed participation of 32 teams from reputed universities, 59 adjudicators including two former judges from Supreme Court of India and Delhi High Court respectively. The total prize for the competition amounted to Rs.60,000 along with trophies for the Winning and Runner-Up Team, Best Speaker, Best Researcher and Best Memorial. Law College Dehradun took pride in hosting such a prestigious event in the presence of simulated panel of leading practitioners, academicians and Industry experts. The event aimed to drive home the participants with the knowledge of court room etiquettes, discipline and the skill of advocacy.
The Second Day of the ‘4th National Moot Court Competition’ started with great vigour and zeal witnessing participation of 32 teams in 16 Court Rooms and a Division Bench in every Court. The participants portrayed their intellect with substantive arguments. This Preliminary Round was judged transparently based on their performance and out of this eight Winning Teams proceeded for the Quarter Finals which took place in four Courtrooms. Esteemed panel of judges could witness enhanced clarity of thought and elegance in presentation. The contestants made it difficult for the panellists to do the selection, however 4 Teams proceeded to the Semi-Final Round after the vigorous grilling by the Judges.
Day -3 witnessed excitement and nervousness amidst the participants who progressed to the Semi-Final Round consisting of top Four Teams from Chanakya National Law University, Amity Law School GGSIPU, G.H.Raisoni Law School and Aligarh Muslim University. There was a tough competition amidst the participants and long strenuous rounds. The judgement was finalized after intense questioning of the speakers who showed incredible team spirit and an optimistic approach. Finally, after several rounds of intriguing mooting sessions Chanakya National Law University and G.H. Raisoni Law School marched into the Finals which had Judges from the Supreme Court of India as adjudicators. The teams did exceptionally well wherein the courtroom seemed not less than a battlefield. The plethora of questions by the judges to bring out the skill of advocacy in the participants added to the splendidness of the event.
The Valedictory Session of the three-day event was marked by the gracious presence of Hon’ble Justice Mr. B. P. Singh, Former Justice of Supreme Court of India. The other distinguished judges of the prestigious Moot Court Competition were Hon’ble Mr. Justice V. K. Shali, Former Judge, High Court of Delhi and Mr. Vivek Narayan Sharma, Advocate-on-Record and Joint Secretary, Supreme Court Association. The Guests of Honor included Hon’ble Chancellor Shri. Jitender Joshi, Vice Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) N.K.Joshi and Dr. Abhishek Joshi, Director – Student Affairs and IT Services.
Principal and Dean Prof. (Dr.) Rajesh Bahuguna welcomed the dignitaries on and off the stage and stated that out of 32 teams the Chanakya National Law University, Patna and G. H. Raisoni University, Nagpur reached the finals. After a tough legal contest, CNLU, Patna eventually lifted the trophy. The contestants splendidly demonstrated their legal acumen and analytical-cum-argumentative traits soliciting thunderous applause from the Hon’ble Judges as well as the distinguished intelligentsia present in the Seminar Hall. The teams were eloquent in their speech and it was evident that they were observant and inquisitive, backed with strong and impenetrable research. The contestants displayed splendid oratorical, argumentative and analytical skills. Dr. Bahuguna further stated that the National Moot Court Competition 2019 has set new paradigms for future Moot Court Competitions.
Hon’ble Justice Mr. B. P. Singh, in his address, appreciated the Moot Court Society of Law College Dehradun for organizing the competition in a successful manner. In his speech, Hon’ble Justice offered valuable tips to the budding lawyers. He advised the students to respect elders and work hard with perseverance. “Brevity is an essential pre-requisite for a successful lawyer and faith, confidence and courageousness would be the key to your success”, he observed. He also quoted “Do not learn what to do but learn what not to do”. It was also said that the prospective lawyers should maintain their dignity in the courts as justice is not an employment but an honor in itself.
Speaking in the same vein, Hon’ble Mr. Justice V. K. Shali cautioned the students that hard work has no substitute. He further exhorted them by saying that honesty, sincerity and hard-work are the three essentials for realizing dreams. He imbibed in the young minds that lucid presentation of facts along with latest judgements are indispensable in court pleadings.
Mr. Vivek Narayan Sharma, A.O.R., Supreme Court of India, in his speech, expressed the need to recognize deficiencies in Moot Court Competitions. “Vision, Strategy and Preparation are three essentials for practicing lawyers”, he maintained. He advised the students to focus on contents of the problem and elaborating the same with an appealing presentation before the judge. He also laid down emphasis on on-the-spot thinking and presence of mind for advocates.
In the course of different stages of the competition, issues like litigations, question of dissolution of Hindu marriage after conversion or renunciation, availability of fundamental rights to the stateless persons, principles of human rights versus personal laws of international nature were extensively discussed through various simulated court proceedings.
The Hon’ble Judges, after a very exhilarating round, adjudged CNLU Patna as the Winner of the competition while G. H. Raisoni University, Nagpur was declared as the Runner-Up. The Winner and the Runner-Up Teams received a Trophy and Cash Prize of Rs.25000/- and Rs. 15000/- respectively. Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad received the award of Best Memorial, Campus Law Center, University of Delhi got the award of Best Researcher while Mr. Pranav Kumar Kaushal of Bahra University, Shimla and Ms. Swaroopini Srinath of Govt. Law College Mumbai were declared as best male and female advocates respectively.
WINNERS – CNLU, PATNA
RUNNERS-UP – G.H. RAISONI UNIVERSITY, NAGPUR
BEST SPEAKER (MALE) – MR. PRANAV KUMAR KAUSHAL OF BAHRA UNIVERSITY, SHIMLA
BEST SPEAKER (FEMALE) – MS. SWAROOPINI SRINATH OF GOVT. LAW COLLEGE MUMBAI
BEST RESEARCHER – CAMPUS LAW CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
BEST MEMORIAL – SYMBIOSIS LAW SCHOOL, HYDERABAD
The event came to a glorious end with a formal Vote of Thanks delivered by Dr. Poonam Rawat, Chairperson – Moot Court Society. Dr. Poonam Rawat, in her speech, appreciated the society members for their commitment and perseverance and encouraged them to organize more such events. Moot Court Society of Law College Dehradun conveyed their heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Anjum Parvez, Dr. Anil Dixit, Dr. Vijay Srivastav, Mr. Laxman Singh Rawat, Mr. Ujwal Kumar Singh, Mr. Ramakant Tripati and Mr. Vaibhav Uniyal (the Faculty Advisory Board of the Society) for providing constant motivation and extending moral support to the entire team.
Present on the occasion were Principal &Dean Prof.(Dr.) Rajesh Bahuguna, HOD and Chairperson of Moot Court Society Prof. (Dr.) Poonam Rawat, HOD (Humanities) Mr. Kumar Ashutosh, HOD (Management) Dr. Jitender Singh, Chairperson of Youth Parliament Society Dr.Razit Sharma, Chairperson of Aarambh – The Debating Society Mr. Amit Kumar, Faculty-in-Charge of Legal Aid Centre Mr. Vaibhav Uniyal, Mr. Anjum Parvez, Dr. Anil Dixit, Dr. L. S. Rawat, Dr. Vijay Srivastava, Dr. Ujjwal Kumar Singh, Mr. Ramakant Tripathi and students of Law College Dehradun.
The Event Saw participation from the following renowned Universities and colleges of the nation:
1. Amity Law School, Delhi (Affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University)
2. Babu Banarasi Das University, Lucknow
3. School of Law, Bahra University Shimla Hills, Himachal Pradesh
4. Central University of South Bihar, Gaya
5. Chanakya National Law University, Patna
6. Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Visakhapatnam
7. Department of Law, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
8. Faculty of Law, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj
9. Galgotias University, Greater Noida
10. GH Raisoni Law School, Nagpur
11. Gitarattan International Business School, New Delhi
12. Government Law College, Mumbai
13. Indore Institute of Law, Indore
14. Indian Institute of Legal Studies, Darjeeling, West Bengal
15. Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur
16. Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
17. Kerala Law Academy, Law College, Kerala
18. Law Centre- II, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, Delhi
19. Law School, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
20. Lloyd Law College, Greater Noida
21. National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University of Law, Hyderabad
22. National Law Institute University, Bhopal
23. O.P Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana
24. Pravin Gandhi College of Law, Mumbai
25. School of Law, Christ University (Deemed To Be University), Bengaluru
26. Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad
27. Symbiosis Law School, Noida
28. Tamil Nadu National Law University, Tamil Nadu
29. The NorthCap University, Haryana
30. University College of Law, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur
31. University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun
32. Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, New Delhi
We hope to see an even greater participation in the ‘5th National Moot Court Competition’ and make it an equally greater experience to everyone associated with the competition right from the sponsors to the volunteers. We take pride in providing opportunity to the budding lawyers, a platform to learn refined courtroom demeanor.
