As they say, “there are no lawyer jokes, they’re all true stories.” And 16 teams of budding legal experts will be flaunting such stories at the 21^st MC Chagla Moot Court Competition at GLC. The finalists will be rewarded with a chance to present their case before a distinguished bench of high court judges.

21st MC CHAGLA MEMORIAL GOVERNMENT LAW COLLEGE NATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION, 2014. 

The Government Law College, Mumbai in association with the Chief Justice M. C. Chagla Memorial Trust organizes the M.C. Chagla Memorial Government Law College National Moot Court Competition annually. The Moot based primarily on Constitutional Law, witnesses competition among students of some of the finest law colleges in the country including National Law University, Bangalore; National Academy for Legal Studies and Research, Hyderabad; National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata etc.   

The Moot currently in its 21^st year began as a city-level moot court competition, which was later expanded to a state-level competition. Due to the overwhelming response that the competition received, it has been raised to a national platform since its 18th edition.

The Government Law College, founded in 1855, is the oldest law school in Asia dating even prior to the University of Mumbai, and enjoys a pre-eminent national and international reputation for excellence. GLC which has a rich heritage and pedigree, is the repository of erudition in the legal firmament and has had the privilege of guidance from eminent legal luminaries such as Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, Lokmanya Tilak, Justice M.C.Chagla, Nani Palkhivala and several others who have adorned benches of the Supreme Court of India and the Bombay High Court.

Late Mr. M. C. Chagla was appointed as the First Indian Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. He also served as the Ambassador to USA, Mexico, Cuba, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bombay, High Commissioner to England and Union Minster for Education. In the fight against Emergency, the contribution made by this great legal luminary is indeed of tremendous significance. He worked tirelessly for the causes of civil liberty, individual freedom and political democracy and this moot court competition promises to be a fitting tribute to his legacy.

The Moot is scheduled to be held on the 27^th and 28^th of September. The final rounds will be judged by three distinguished Bombay High Court Judges- Hon’ble Smt. Justice R.S. Dalvi, Hon’ble Mr. Justice A.B. Chaudhari and Hon’ble Smt. Justice R.M. Dere. It would indeed be a privilege for the teams participating in this moot to vie for a spot in the finals so as to argue before this prestigious Bench.

20th M.C. Chagla Memorial Government Law College National Moot Court Competition, 2014

20^th M.C. Chagla Memorial Government Law College National Moot Court Competition, 2014

The Government Law College, Mumbai in association with the Chief Justice M. C. Chagla Memorial Trust organised the 20^th M. C. Chagla Memorial Government Law College National Moot Court Competition on 11^th & 12^th January, 2014.

The Moot Court Association of Government Law College has been hosting the M. C. Chagla Memorial Moot Court Competition for several years. It began as a city-level moot court competition, which was later expanded to a state-level competition. Due to the overwhelming response that we have been receiving, the Competition, since its 18^th edition, has been raised to a national platform.

Late Mr. M. C. Chagla was appointed as the First Indian Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. He also served as the Ambassador to USA, Mexico, Cuba, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bombay, High Commissioner to England and Union Minster for Education. In the fight against Emergency, the contribution made by this great legal luminary is indeed of tremendous significance. Chief Justice M. C. Chagla also served as a Professor of Constitutional Law at the Government Law College for a number of years. He worked tirelessly for the causes of civil liberty, individual freedom and political democracy and this moot court competition promises to be a fitting tribute to his legacy.

The Moot Court Competition is based purely on Constitutional Law and requires teams to argue on a moot proposition across Preliminary, Quarter-Final, Semi-Final and Final Round of Arguments. The rounds of the competition are judged by eminent professors and practicing lawyers of the Bombay High Court with the Final Rounds being judged by sitting Judges of the Bombay High Court.

The moot proposition of the 20^th edition of this competition was in the form of a Public Interest Litigation filed in the Supreme Court challenging a Constitutional Amendment made to Article 124 of the Constitution. A Commission has been set up which recommends Judges for their appointment to the Higher Judiciary. The moot problem challenges the constitutional validity of the same.

The 20^th Edition witnessed 16 of the best law colleges in the country competing to win the coveted trophy. The participating colleges were:

1)     Chanakya National Law University, Patna

2)     Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai

3)     Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Lucknow

4)     Government Law College, Mumbai

5)     National Law University, Delhi

6)     National Law Institute University, Bhopal

7)     National Law University, Jodhpur

8)     National Law School of India University, Bangalore

9)     National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi

10) Symbiosis Law School, Noida

11) Symbiosis Law School, Pune

12) School of Excellence in Law, Chennai

13)University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University

14) Faculty of Law, Allahabad University

15) National Law University, Odisha

16) Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar

The preliminary rounds were held on 11^th of January in the GLC premises. The quarter finals were held on the 12^th of January. The following teams made it to the semi-final rounds:

1)     Government Law College, Mumbai

2)     Chanakya National Law University, Patna

3)     Symbiosis Law School, Noida

4)     Symbiosis Law School, Pune

The semi-final rounds were judged by senior counsels of the Bombay High Court. The judges were:

1)     Mr. J.P. Cama

2)     Mr. T.N. Subramanian

3)     Mr. Percy Pardiwalla

4)     Mr. Aspi Chinoy

5)     Mr. Pradeep Sancheti

The final round of arguments was held at the Walchand Hirachand Hall, Indian Merchants Chamber, Churchgate on the 12^th of January. The finalists were Chanakya National Law University, Patna and Symbiosis Law School, Noida.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice V.M. Kanade and Hon’ble Mr. Justice M.S. Sonak, sitting judges of the Bombay High Court were the judges for the final round. After an intense round of arguments, the valedictory function was presided over by Hon’ble Mr. Justice V.M. Kanade and Hon’ble Mr. Justice M.S. Sonak, Mr. Iqbal Chagla and Mr. Riyaz Chagla, trustees of the Chief Justice M.C. Chagla Memorial Trust, Mr. R.B. Malik, Principal, Government Law College, Mumbai, Prof. Kishu Daswani, Professor, Government Law College and Mr. Raghav Dev Garg, General Secretary of the Moot Court Association of Government Law College.

Mr. R.B. Malik, Principal, Government Law College delivered the welcome address. He exclaimed that remembering Chief Justice M.C. Chagla would give the students a path to cross their own path successfully. He also appreciated the efforts of the Moot Court Association for organising the competition brilliantly and making it feel like a real life court proceeding.

Mr. Iqbal Chagla while addressing the audience expressed that the quality of this moot competition cannot be described in mere words and the level of advocacy of the participants is simply incredible.

Mr. Riyaz Chagla in his address expressed how the level of this competition has been increasing ever since its inception. From a city level to a state level and now a national level competition, within a span of 20 years is commendable.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice M.S. Sonak congratulated the teams and all participants and expressed how he was impressed by the excellent organisation of this competition. He also appreciated the efforts of the finalists: from research to drafting to the advocacy.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice V.M. Kanade congratulated the Moot Court Association for having organised this competition at the national level in the name of Chief Justice M.C. Chagla. He also told that these competitions now provide a lot of exposure and experience to law students.  He also shared some of his initial experiences at the bar when no such competitions were conducted in colleges.

The moot court competition had various awards. The award for the Best Memorial went to Symbiosis Law School, Pune. Mr. Anmolan of Chanakya National Law University was awarded the 2^nd Best Speaker and Ms. Rima Desai of Government Law College, Mumbai was awarded the Best Speaker.

Symbiosis Law School, Noida bagged the award for the 2^nd Best Team whereas Chanakya National Law University, Patna was declared the Best Team of the 20^th M.C. Chagla Memorial Government Law College National Moot Court Competition, 2014.

Professor Kishu Daswani spoke about the level of the competition with 24 courtrooms, 50 judges with the semi finals being judged by senior advocates and the finals being judged by sitting judges of the Bombay High Court, across 4 rigorous oral rounds.

Mr. Raghav Dev Garg, General Secretary of the Moot Court Association delivered the vote of thanks. He thanked the teams for coming from all across the nation for this moot court competition and thanked the Hon’ble Judges of the Bombay High Court for sparing their valuable time and judging the final rounds of the competition.