Over 300 attend moot court contest

Phagwara, March 27

Lovely Professional University (LPU) organised its 5th moot court competition “Gavelled” at its School of Law and Shanti Devi Mittal Auditorium. The event saw participation of 300 law students from 52 prominent law institutions across 15 Indian states and UTs. The competition aimed to bring forth a vast platform for law students to showcase their advocacy skills and practical knowledge of the law.

This year’s moot problem was delved upon as a “socio-criminal issue faced by innocent people living in the society”. The competition was spread over three days, during which the participants were required to argue their cases in front of a panel comprising eminent judges and advocates who served as the jury. The students presented their arguments and counter-arguments, cross-examine witnesses, and provided evidence to support their cases.

On the valedictory day, the final round of the competition was judged by hon’ble Justice Dr Pushpendra Singh Bhati of the Rajasthan High Court; permanent Judge of the Bombay High Court hon’ble Justice Nitin R. Borkar; and hon’ble Justice Makarand Subhash Karnik also of the Bombay High Court. The jury members were impressed with the quality of the arguments put forward by the students. LPU’s Pro- Chancellor Rashmi Mittal was the guest of honour of the day.

Permanent Judge of the High Court of Delhi, Justice Talwant Singh inaugurated the competition, where LPU Chancellor Dr Ashok Kumar Mittal, who himself is an advocate, said that such competitions are to provide students with great experience of the legal profession in a real-world setting. Here, students can apply the knowledge that they have gained and further develop skills as budding lawyers.

Participating students won prizes of Rs 1 lakh under different categories. Team of Christ University, Bangalore, got the winning prize; and Punjab University (Regional Campus) Ludhiana declared runner-up. Shreyash Dubey of Dr BR Ambedkar National Law University, Sonipat, got the Best Researcher Award; Symbiosis Law School of Pune won the Best Memorial Award; and Best Speaker Award was received by Jasmeen Kaur of St Soldier Law College (Jalandhar).

The Judges interacted with the law students and came to know their opinions for issues prevalent in the society including same sex marriage, adolescents’ relations, transgender status and more. The competition proved to be a great learning experience, as students learnt from the top judiciary.