5 NATIONAL MOOT COURT

th

COMPETITION-2017
September 21- 23, 2017
5th NATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION, 2017
September 21st -23rd, 2017

Dean's Message

Dear Sir/Madam,

Greetings from School of Law, IMS Unison University!!

IMS UNISON has traversed a long journey to attain quality education, intuitive recognition of
creativity and sparkling success since 1996. It has outstanding faculty, student oriented
approach with a global perspective, open & healthy academic environment. IMS Unison
University has unique features to act as a catalyst and facilitator to groom our students for best
career prospects.

The University is for students who imbibe learning as a way of life, and who are open to the
world and to the transforming role of higher education. We provide a supportive community
where students and faculty members interact together in the learning process.

In School of Law, we aspire to inculcate humanistic approach, entrepreneurial skills,

innovative outlook and academic focus in our future leaders who can make a difference in the
society. Our multi-disciplinary learning methods have proved fruitful as our alumni are setting
new milestones in their professional fields.

Moot Court is a platform where the analysis, drafting, presentation and argumentative skills of
the budding legal professionals in the Law Schools are put to test. Moot Court Society, IMS
Unison University, Dehradun proudly announces the Fifth Edition of IUU, National Moot Court
Competition on Constitutional Law from 21st-23rd September 2017. The competition strives
to recognize and appreciate young legal talent and provide them a platform to develop their
professional skills.

We hope to have a successful and active participation from all young legal professionals. I wish the
participants a good luck
Thanking You
With regards,

(Dr. Brijmohan Dimri)

Dean, School of Law,
IMS Unison University
Dehradun, Uttarakhand

02 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

INVITATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY
5th National Moot Court Competition, 2017

Dear Sir/Madam,

It gives me immense pleasure to announce the Fifth Edition of IUU, National Moot Court
Competition. The School of law, IUU invites participation from your esteemed institution for
the competition scheduled on September 21-23, 2017.

We started in 1996 as IMS Dehradun, a non-profit organization set by a group of visionaries

dedicated to the cause of changing the face of professional education in Northern India. The
University today provides a platform for excellence in teaching, learning and administration.
State of the art Information Technology is extensively used in the University contributing to the
development of well-trained graduate, post-graduate and doctorate students. The University
strives to provide holistic learning through a multidisciplinary approach and also to promote
research and innovation in all spheres of its activities in order to become a national and global
School of Law
epicenter of knowledge, culture, skills andSchool
technologies.of School
Law of law, IUU is making rapid
advancements in standards of legal education and research. It offers B.A. L.L.B and B.B.A.
L.L.B. five years Integrated Program; L.L.M and Ph.D. courses. The courses are designed to
provide overall development of students to strengthen them to face the need of the hour and
global challenges.

We look forward for participation of your team in the aforesaid National Moot Court
Competition and make it a successful event. The Moot Competition Proposition, Official
Schedule and the Official Rules and Regulations governing the competition are enclosed
herewith.

Thanking You
With regards,

(Dr. Saroj Bohra)

Head, School of Law
Director, Moot Court Society
IMS Unison University
Dehradun, Uttarakhand

0303 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY
5th NATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION, 2017

SCHEDULE

IMPORTANT DATES

Release of Moot Proposition and Rules & Regulations of the

July 27, 2017
MootCourt Competition

Last Date for Submission of Soft (scanned) Copy of Registration

Form,Demand Draft/NEFT/IMPS Details & Travel Plan
August 25, 2017 e-mail: sol.mootcourt@iuu.ac

August 28, 2017 Last Date for clarification on Moot Proposition

Last Date for Submission of Hard Copy of Registration Form,

August 31, 2017 Demand Draft/ NEFT/IMPS Details & Travel Plan by Post.

September 9, 2017 School of Law

Last Date for Submission of Memorials (Soft Copy)
School of Law
e-mail: sol.mootcourt@iuu.ac
September 15, 2017 Last Date for Submission of Memorials (Hard Copy) by Post.

September 21, 2017 Inauguration, Draw of Lots, Memorial Exchange & Researcher Test

September 22, 2017 Preliminary, Pre- Quarter and Quarter Final Rounds
Semi-Final and Final Rounds, Valedictory & Prize Distribution
September 23, 2017
Ceremony

0304 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY
5th NATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION-2017
RULES AND REGULATIONS
I.ELIGIBILTY

The Competition is open for students pursuing three/ five year LL.B. Degree Course from
recognized Law College/University in India, subject to fulfillment of the registration formalities.

II.TEAM COMPOSITION

Each team shall consist of maximum of three members (Two Speakers and One Researcher).
All participants are mandatorily required to carry their University/College ID Cards during the
competition.
III. REGISTRATION

1. In order to confirm participation, teams of every Institution should register themselves

as per schedule mentioned hereinabove. The registration process consists of the following
two steps:

Step one: Each team is required to send the scanned copy of their duly filled-in
Registration form along with the scanned copy of the Demand Draft/NEFT/IMPS details
to email- sol.mootcourt@iuu.ac by August 25, 2017. Subject of the mail should bear
“Registration Form for IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY 5th National Moot Court Competition-
2017”
The Demand Draft shall be drawn in the favour of “IMS Unison University” payable at
Dehradun
Details for Payment through e-mode such as NEFT/IMPS are as under

Beneficiary Name : IMS Unison University

Account No : 15262191005680
Bank : Oriental Bank of Commerce, Makkawala, Dehradun
IFSC Code : ORBC0101526

05 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

 NOTE- 1. In case of payment through NEFT/IMPS original receipt along with the UTR
No./Ref. No. is required to submitted through e-mail (scanned copy). In case of
payment by demand draft, the scanned copy of the DD is required to be mailed
alongwith the Registration Form

2. Registration Form shall be complete in all respect. Incomplete registration Form or

Form with misleading information shall be rejected.

Step two: Registration Form, Travel Plan and Original Demand Draft/ original receipt
alongwith the UTR No./Ref. No. should reach the University by August 31, 2017 .
“Registration Form for IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY 5th National Moot Court Competition-
2017” should be superscripted on the envelope. The postal address is as under:

Moot Court Society, School of Law,

IMS Unison University,
Makkawala Greens,
Mussoorie Diversion Road,
Dehradun- 248009.:

2. Registration Fee: Rs. 4800/- (Rupees Four Thousand & Eight Hundred only/-) for each
participating team. Dr. R. K. Pandey
(Vice Chancellor)
3. Forms received after the deadline i.e. August 25, 2017 shall not be considered for
registration.
4. The Registration is open to 40 teams only on First cum First Serve basis.

5. The Registration Fee shall not be refunded in case the Registered Team fail to arrive for
the competition or requisite number of team members fail to participate.

6. There shall be 'NO' on the spot registration of the teams.

IV.CRITERIA FOR MEMORIAL SUBMISSION:

1. Each team has to prepare Memorials for both the sides.

2. The teams must send soft copies of memorial for both the sides on or before September 9, 2017
to sol.mootcourt@iuu.ac In addition to this, 05 (Five) Hard copies of each side of the memorials
should reach the University on or before September 15, 2017. Participants are advised to carry their
own copies of Memorial during the competition for their perusal.

IN NO CASE, ANY SUBMISSION SHALL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE DEADLINE i.e. September 15,
2017.

06 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

Soft Copies of Memorials submitted after September 9, 2017 shall not be considered for
ANY evaluation purpose.

3.Format of Memorials
3.1 The memorial shall not exceed 40 typed A4 size pages.

3.2 The colour of the cover page must be Blue in case of Petitioner/Appellant and Red
in case of Respondent

3.3 Body of Memorial shall include:

i. The Cover Page

ii. Table of Contents

iii. List of Abbreviations

iv. Index of Authorities / Table of Cases

v. Statement of Jurisdiction

vi. Statement of Facts

vii. Statement of Issues

viii. Summary of Arguments

ix. Arguments Advanced/Detailed Arguments.

x. Prayer(s)

xi. Bibliography

3.4 The title page shall include:

i. The Name of the Court

ii. The Year of the Competition

iii. The Name of the Case

iv. The Name of the parties

v. Team Code to be indicated at the top right

corner in bold. (Eg. T1)

vi. The title of the Document “Memorial for

Petitioner/ Respondent”

07 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

 3.4 The following contents shall be deemed included within the stipulated page limit:

a. Pleadings

b. Conclusions

c. Annexure, if any

d. Appendices and footnotes.

Note-
In no case, the page limit for Annexure should exceed 10 A4 size pages

Any issue or pleading, not discussed within the above mentioned contents of the
Memorial, shall not be included in any other section of the Memorial.

Counsels are allowed to frame issues within the given facts in the moot preposition
only.

In no case, Counsels are allowed to introduce additional facts

3.6 The font of the body of the memorial should be Times New Roman, Size 12, line
spacing 1.5 & headings should be 14. Bluebook 19th edition must be strictly adhered
to for citations. Font Size of the cover page may be 14 or 16.

3.7 Memorials should be spiral /hard bound.

3.8 Memorials should have one (01) inch margin on all sides of each page.

3.9 Pages should be numbered at the bottom middle.

3.10 The memorial should not contain any photograph/ sketch/ exhibit/ affidavit etc.

3.11 The hard copy of the memorial should not bear any mark/indication etc. so as to
indicate the identity of the participating team.

3.12 The hard copy of the memorial should only bear the respective Team Code which shall
be provided by the Organizer to the respective teams by September 10, 2017.

3.13 Once the memorials have been submitted, no revisions, supplements or additions
shall be allowed.

4 Only the memorials received within the prescribed time schedule shall be evaluated
by the Memorial Evaluation Committee (MEC) constituted by the Moot Court Society, IMS
Unison University, Dehradun.

08 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

4 The evaluation will be done on the following parameters:

Criteria Criteria
Knowledge of Facts and Law 25
Extent and Use of research 25
Proper and Articulate Analysis 20
Clarity and Organization 10
Correct Format and Citation 10
Grammar and Style 10

6. Evaluation done by the Moot Court Society shall be final and binding on all the teams .
V. RESEARCHER TEST

There shall be a Researcher Test on 21st September, 2017 and it shall be mandatory for
all the researchers to take part in this competition. Best Researcher shall be
determined by the marks obtained in the researcher test. However, the marks of the
“Researcher Test” shall not be added to the mooting marks of any team.

VI. ROUNDS

The Competition is divided into following rounds –

a. Preliminary Rounds and Pre-Quarter Final Rounds

b. Advanced Rounds: The Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final shall constitute the
Advanced Rounds of the Competition.

1. Draw of lots

Match-up of the teams shall be according to the Draw of lots which shall take place on
September 21, 2017.

09 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

 1. Preliminary Round
Each team shall argue from both the sides in the Preliminary Rounds. No team shall
argue the same side and against the same team in the Preliminary Rounds.

2.1 Arrangement of Ranking: The teams in the Preliminary Rounds shall be ranked on the
basis of below mentioned criteria –

a. The merit list shall be prepared on the basis of cumulative scores of both the rounds.
The top 16 teams selected after this round will proceed to the Pre-Quarter Finals.

b. In case of tie, marks of memorials shall be taken into consideration

c. In case the tie subsists there shall be a tie breaker round.

1. Pre-Quarter Finals
This shall be a knock-out round and each team shall represent only one side, to be decided
by the draw of lots. The winner of each court-room shall be decided on the basis of scores
awarded by the judges in this round only.

Note: The winning 8 teams selected after this round will qualify for the Quarter Finals.

1. Advanced Rounds
I. Quarter Finals

This shall be a knock-out round and each team shall represent only one side, to be decided
by the draw of lots. The winner of each court-room shall be decided on the basis of scores
awarded by the judges in this round only.

Note: The top 4 teams selected after this round will qualify for the Semi Final Round.

ii. Semi Finals

This shall be a knock out round and each team shall represent only one side, to be decided
by the draw of lots. The winner of each court-room shall be decided on the basis of scores
awarded by the judges in this round only.

Note: The winners from each court room shall compete in the Final Round.

iii. Final Round

The final round shall take place between the winners of the Semi-Final round. Each team
shall argue from both the sides in the Final Round.

10 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

NOTE: UNIVERSITY, IN IT’S SOLE DISCRETION, SHALL BE AT LIBERTY TO DECIDE
UPON THE NUMBER OF ROUNDS TO BE CONDUCTED, AS DEEM FIT AND NECESSARY.

VII. PROCEDURE AND MARKING OF COURT ROUNDS

1. Each team will get a total of 25 minutes to present its case in the Preliminary, Pre-Quarter and
Quarter Final Rounds and 40 minutes for the Semi Finals and Final. This includes the time for
rebuttal.

2. The division of time per speaker is left to the discretion of the team. However maximum time
allowed for each speaker shall not exceed 15 minutes for Preliminary, Pre-Quarter and
Quarter Finals and 25 minutes in the Semi Finals and Final.

3. The arguments should be confined to the issues presented in the memorial only.

4. Maximum scores for the court rounds will be 100 marks per speaker. The court rounds will be
judged on the following parameters

Criteria Maximum Marks

Knowledge of Law 20

Application of Law to Facts of the Moot 20

Proposition

Ingenuity and Ability to Answer Questions 20

Style, Poise, Courtesy, Dressing sense and 20

Demeanour

Time Management 10

Organization 10

VIII. DRESS CODE

Inside the Court Room the participants shall be in Formals.

11 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

 Female(s): White Salwar and Kurta /White Shirt, Black Trouser and Black Tie along with
Black Blazer and Black Shoes

Male(s): White Shirt and Black Trouser along with Black Tie, Black Blazer and Black Shoes

Non adherence to the prescribed dress code shall attract penalty.

IX AWARDS AND CERTIFICATES

Categories of Awards:
I. Winner of the Final Round will be given the “Best Team” award.

ii. Runner-up of the Final Round will be given the “1st Runner Up” award.

iii. Team placed at the 3rd position will be given certificate of “2nd Runner Up”.

iv. Team with the highest memorial scores will be given the “Best Memorial” award.

v. “Best Mooter- Male & Female” award shall be determined on the basis of the total marks
secured during the Preliminary Round.

vi.In addition to the above, certificates of Participation will be issued to all the participants only
during the valedictory function and no prior request shall be entertained in any case.

X ACCOMMODATION, FOOD AND TRAVEL

Accommodation, Food and Transport for the participating teams from the Hotel to the Venue
will be provided by the Organizer. Any change in the travel plan should be immediately
intimidated to the organizers. Accommodation shall be provided from 21st September,
2017, 12.00 P.M. to 23th September 2017, 12.00 P.M. Teams will have to make their own
arrangements if they arrive before the mentioned period or stay beyond it. No arrangement
shall be provided to any additional team member of the team apart from the registered
members.

Note:
Boys & Girls shall be provided separate accommodation.

No Pick-up and Drop facility shall be provided to any of the participants from
Airport/Bus station/ railway Station. Participants shall have to make their own
arrangements for reaching the Hotel/University.

Buses for pick-up and drop from the place of accommodation to the university
campus shall ply only once as per the schedule. No individual requestfor
separate or special Pick-up and Drop shall be entertained.

12 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

 XI CODE OF CONDUCT

(1) COURT MANNERS (ORAL ARGUMENTS)

a. The language for the Moot Court Competition shall be English.

b. Any form of communication between the Bar table and by any person other than those on
the Bench is completely prohibited, and any indulgence in the same,shall result in a penalty.

c. Submission of any written material other than the memorials and any other documents
related to the proposition in hand to the Bench prior to, during or after oral arguments is not
allowed and any indulgence in the same, shall result in a penalty.

d. Failure to deliver an oral argument shall be considered in entirety, a disqualification.

e. Use of any kind of electronic devices like laptop, mobile, i-pads etc. is strictly not allowed
during the moot proceedings.

f. All participants are expected to maintain the decorum of the Court during the competition
and are expected to conduct themselves in a manner befitting the legal profession.

(2) SCOUTING: Teams will not be allowed to observe the rounds of any other teams.
Scouting in any form is strictly prohibited. Scouting by any of the team members will result in
immediate disqualification. The decision of the organizer shall be final and binding in this
regard.

(2) CHEATING, INTIMIDATION AND MISCONDUCT

a. Cheating or using of unfair means of any kind is strictly prohibited and if indulged
in, shall result in disqualification of the team.

b. Intimidation in any form is prohibited and if indulged in, shall result in

disqualification of the team.

c. Misconduct, whether behavioral or otherwise, is not allowed and anyindulgence in

the same shall result in disqualification of the team.

(4) NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE RULES OF THE MOOT COURT SOCIETY

(1) The participants are required to comply with the rules formulated by the Organizing
Committee at all times during the Moot Court competition.

(2) In case of any non- compliance with the rules of the Moot Court Society penalty may be
imposed by deduction of marks and the teams may also be disqualified
after they have been warned once.

13 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

(5) PENALTY
The penalties shall be levied as under for non-adherence to Competition Rules

I) Penalty for non- adherence of Memorial guidelines

Late submissions beyond the stipulated time period will attract 2 point penalty per
memorial for each day of delay

The memorial exceeding maximum number of Pages i.e. 40 A4 size pages shall
attract 5 point penalt

Introduction of additional facts in the memorial shall attract 5 point penalty

per additional fact.

Use of incorrect font or font size, use of font of inconsistent size, improperly
formatted index of authorities or improper line spacing shall attract 5 point penalty.

Failure to include all parts of the memorial, or inclusion of an unremunerated

part, substantive legal argument outside of approved sections of memorial,
excessive length, failure to include necessary information on the memorial
cover, inclusion of any identifying mark, character or text in the memorial shall
attract 5 Point penalty.

ii) Penalty for misconduct during Pleadings

Any form of communication between the Bar table and by any person other
than those on the Bench is completely prohibited, and any indulgence in the
same, shall result in a penalty point of 1 Mark per communication

Submission of any written material other than the memorials and any
other documents related to the proposition in hand to the Bench prior to, during or
after oral arguments is not allowed and any indulgence in the same shall result in
a penalty point of 5 marks

Non adherence to the prescribed Dress code shall attract penalty of 5marks
per member of the team.

14 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

 (6) DISQUALIFICATION

Notwithstanding anything written as a part of the above mentioned rules, following

shall result in disqualification of the team in entirety:-

I. The hard copies must be exact print outs of the soft copies. Non-compliance with
this rule would entail disqualification.

II. In addition to this following shall lead to disqualification:-

a.Use of Electronic Devices like Mobile, Laptop, I-Pads etc.
b.Scouting
c.Misconduct with the judges or with the members of the Moot Court Society.
d.Any act which is not found befitting the standards of Legal Profession.

XII. DISPUTES
Any dispute about the Moot Court Competition shall be referred to the Moot Court Society,
before the end of the competition. The decision of the Moot Court Society shall be final and
binding.

XIII. Moot court society

Faculty Convener Ms. Divya Singh Rathor

Faculty Co-Convener Mr. Nikunj Singh Yadav

Student Convener(s) Student Conveners (Moot Court Society)

1. Mr. Hardeep Singh 1. Ms. Maham Raza Haider

2. Mr. Lakshya Madan 2. Mr. S.Kumar Ghosh

Student Co-Convener(s)

1. Mr. Aditya Barthwal

2. Mr. Chetan Prakash
3. Mr. Shivam Sharma
4. Ms. Shreya Dubey
5. Ms. Shruti Kabra
6. Mr. Shubhang Goel

XIV. QUERIES AND CLARIFICATIONS

In case of any questions related to problems or clarifications regarding the competition, feel
free to contact the following by August 28, 2017:

15 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

• E-mail:- sol.mootcourt@iuu.ac

• Contact our Student Convenors:

Mr.Hardeep Singh, +91- 9634444092

Mr. Lakshya Madan, +91- 8449160759

XV. HOW TO REACH IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN

Dehradun is one of the oldest cities in India. In the Vedic times, the Garhwal Mandal, of which
Dehradun is c.a part, was known as the Kedar Khand. Legend has it that Guru Dronacharaya,
a Brahmin teacher of warfare, considered Dehradun a place fit for meditation & worship and
therefore, the valley of Doon was christened Drona Ashram, which means “The Abode of
Drona”.
Dehradun is situated in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand (formerly Uttar Pradesh)
around 235 km from Delhi. Dehradun extends from the latitude 30° 19' in the North to
longitude 78° 04' in the East. The City of Dehradun is well connected to other cities of North
India by rail, road, and air.
IMS Unison University, Dehradun is located only about 20 Kms. from Mussoorie, a popular
tourist destination in India. The university is only about 13 Kms. from Clock tower, Dehradun
and is easily accessible by Public Transport.

16 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN

5th NATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION, 2017

September 21st -23rd, 2017

REGISTRATION FORM

INSTRUCTIONS: All participating teams are requested to fill in the details in capital letters
with Blue/Black Ball Point Pen and a scanned copy of the filled form should be mailed to
sol.mootcourt@iuu.ac to expedite allotment of the team code. Please read the Rules &
Regulations of the competition before submitting this registration form.

1.UNIVERSITY/ INSTITUTION DETAIL

Name of University/ Institution: …....……………………………………………………………………………….

Address of University/ Institution: ….....……………………………………………………………………………

Name of Dean / HOD: ……..……………………………………………….……………………………………….

Telephone No.: ……………….……………..….......………...... Fax No.: ……………………………….………

E- Website: …..………...………………………
Mail:………………………………………………………..........…

Photo

3. SECOND SPEAKER

PHOTO

17 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

4. RESEARCHER

PHOTO

5. DEMAND DRAFT /NEFT /IMPS DETAILS

Name of the Bank: ………………………………………….……………………………………………………

Demand Draft No/UTR No./Ref. No.: …………………….………

Amount: ………………………….… Date: ………………………….…

Note: Demand draft should be in favor of “IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY” payable at Dehradun.

6. DECLARATION BY THE TEAM MEMBERS

We hereby certify that the information given by us is true and complete in all material respect.

We also undertake to abide by the Rules & Regulations of the Moot Court competition.

Signature ( Speaker 1 ) Signature ( Speaker 2 ) Signature ( Researcher )

Date: Seal and Signature of the Head of the Institution

18 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN

5th NATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION, 2017

September 21st -23rd, 2017

TRAVEL PLAN

1.Name of the Team Members:

Member 1: …...………………………………………………………..…………… Gender: ……………………

Member 2: …...………………………………………………………..…………… Gender: ……………………

Member 3: …...………………………………………………………..…………… Gender: ……………………

2.Name of University/ Institution: …………………………………………………………………………………

3.Arrival Date & Time:…………………………………………………………………………..……………………

4. Departure Date & Time:………………………………….....................................................................

5.Any other details:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Signature ( Speaker 1 ) Signature ( Speaker 2 ) Signature ( Researcher )

Note: All the participating teams are requested to send the scanned copy of the travel plan
via e-mail to sol.mootcourt@iuu.ac by August 31, 2017.

20 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

 5th NATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION-2017

September 21st -23rd, 2017

MOOT PROPOSITION

1 -The Republic of Indiana, is a Federal Democratic Republic and Union of States. In the Republic of
Indiana there are 25 states which have their own State Government and State Legislative Assemblies.
At the Centre level, the Republic of Indiana has a Central Government which works in the interest of the
Republic as a whole. Republic of Indiana has its own written Constitution which is the supreme law of
the land. As per the Constitution, Republic has three tier judicial system: lower courts at the District
level, High Court as the highest court of the State and the Apex Court as Highest Court for the Republic
of Indiana as a whole. As per the scheme of the Constitution, the law laid down by the Apex Court shall
be binding on all courts. But the Constitution does not clearly lay down the status of the High Court vis-
à-vis the Apex Court i.e. whether jurisdiction of the Apex Court is superior to the jurisdiction of the High
Court or is it co-extensive with that of the High Court? Under the Constitution, High Court and the Apex
Court are the Court of Records i.e. they have the powers to punish for contempt including the power to
punish for contempt of itself.

2 - Mr. Swami, born in a Dalit family in the State of Dravida Nadu was a practicing Advocate and after
practicing for 17 years his name was considered for appointment as the Judge of the High Court of the
State of Dravida Nadu. Mr. Swami was appointed as a judge in the Dravida Nadu High Court in 2009 by
the President of Indiana on recommendation by the collegium headed by the then Chief Justice of
Indiana. The recommendation to the collegium was done by the Chief Justice of Dravida Nadu High
Court. He also served as Government Counsel for the State of Dravida Nadu and the Republic of
Indiana.

3 - Mr. Swami, after taking oath, assumed the office of the Judge of Dravida Nadu High Court. As per the
entitlement Mr. Swami was allotted the accommodation. Though Mr. Swami had unprecedented career
record as an Advocate, he has given some controversial judgments also which were highly debated
among the legal fraternity. For instance in 2011 as per the judgment delivered by Justice Swami, “ If a
man deserts a woman after pre-marital sex with a promise to marry her, the woman could claim the
social status of the Man's wife provided the Man is single and above 21 years of age and the woman is an
adult and not married”.

In February 2015, Justice Swami wrote letters to the Chief Justice of Dravida Nadu High Court
accusing him of allotting only “insignificant and dummy” portfolios and segregating him on account of
his belonging to an under-privileged caste. He also complained to the Chairman of the National
Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

21 IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN 5TH NMCC 2017

4 - Later in February 2016, Justice Swami launched a tirade against the Chief Justice of Dravida Nadu
accusing him of corruption. Justice Swami in his letter to the Apex Court of Indiana filed a complaint
against the Chief Justice of Dravida Nadu and sought protection under the Whistle Blowers Protection
Act, 2011 which is an act to establish a mechanism to receive complaints relating to disclosure of any
allegation of corruption or wilful misuse of power or wilful misuse of discretion against any public
servant and to inquire or cause an inquiry into such disclosure and to provide adequate safeguards
against victimization of the person making such complaint and for matters connected therewith and
incidental thereto.

5 - In September 2016, the President of Indiana after consultation with the Chief Justice of the Apex Court
of Indiana transferred Justice Swami from Dravida Nadu High Court to the High Court of East Mengal.
The High Court of Dravida Nadu in a subsequent order requested Justice Swami to vacate the
residential accommodation also.
Justice Swami on the same day initiated suo-motu writ proceedings and stayed his own transfer order
as well as the order for vacating the residential accommodation. The matter was highly condemned by
the legal fraternity as this was the first time that a judge of the High Court had stayed order of the Apex
Court, secondly it was criticized as being violative of the Principles of Natural Justice Nemo judex in
propria causa sua. All this was widely reported by the media in Indiana, as well as, by the foreign media
including BBC.

6 - The Registrar General of the High Court of Dravida Nadu approached the Division Bench of the Apex
Court which lifted the self- imposed ban on Justice Swami's transfer. As a means of retaliation, Justice
Swami initiated the proceedings against the judges of the division bench of the Apex Court, under the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 which is an “act to
prevent the commission of offences of atrocities against the members of the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes, to provide for Special Courts and the Exclusive Special Courts for the trial of such
offences and for the relief and rehabilitation of the victims of such offences and for matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto.”

The whole legal battle between the High Court and the Apex Court became the most debated topic as it
shook the very foundations of the Constitution of Indiana. Apex Court in several letters warned Justice
Swami of initiating contempt case, in case, he fails to follow its direction. Considering the media
attention and its side effect which was tarnishing the image of judiciary. Senior Judges of the Apex
Court counseled Justice Swami, who later on agreed and joined at the High Court of East Mengal

7 - While serving as the Judge at the High Court of East Mengal, Polkata Bench, Justice Swami in January
2017 wrote several letters to the Prime Minister's Office with copies marked to Secretariat of Lok Sabha
and Rajya Sabha and Centre Bureau of Investigation, requesting an investigation against judges of the
Dravida Nadu High Court and the Apex court on corruption. On February 8, 2017, the Apex Court
decided to initiate suo motu contempt proceedings against Justice Swami. He was asked for an
explanation but he repeatedly ignored the orders of the court. On March 10, 2017, the court issued a
bailable warrant and took away judicial work & powers from him. He failed to honor the warrant and
chose to remain absent and unrepresented. He further accused his colleagues and seniors of caste
bias, saying he was being singled out for being a Dalit.

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 On the same day, in the purported exercise of the jurisdiction vested in him under Article 226 of the
Constitution of Indiana read with Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Justice Swami, in order
to prevent abuse of process of any Court and to secure the ends of justice, invoked his inherent powers
under the appropriate criminal provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention
of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and other Penal provisions against the judges of the Apex Court and directed
the Secretary Generals of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to place the entire facts of the case before
the Speaker for appropriate enquiry under the Judges' Enquiry Act. He requested the President of
Indiana to recall the bailable warrant illegally issued by the Apex Court on 10.3.2017 and lift the non-
work allotment ban of portfolio allocation and file a report within 7 (seven) days before his Court.

This was followed by a string of tit-for-tat orders by the top court and Justice Swami, who remained
defiant and continued to address the press and issue diktats from his Polkata home. He once said in a
press conference that he was mentally disturbed and requested apology from the Apex Court.

8 - In April 2017, the Apex Court ordered Justice Swami to appear before the Medical board for his mental
fitness check-ups. Justice Swami failed to appear before the Medical Board in compliance of the Apex
Court's order, instead, sentenced Chief Justice of Indiana and six other Apex Court judges to five-year
rigorous imprisonment after holding them guilty under the SC/ST Atrocities Act-1989 and amended Act
of 2015 and for contempt of the court. Justice Swami further vide the same order restrained the Hon'ble
judges of the Apex Court from leaving the country. Counsel on behalf of all the judges sentenced by
Justice Swami filed SLP before the Hon'ble Apex Court for quashing the order.

9 - Same day, 7 judges bench of the Apex Court comprising of all the Senior Judges initiated suo motu
contempt proceedings against Justice Swami. The Apex Court sentenced Justice Swami to six months
in prison on charges of criminal contempt, a first for a serving judicial officer, in what has been an
unprecedented face-off in the upper judiciary. Since the incident of contempt included public
statements and publication of orders made by the contemnor, which were highlighted by the electronic
and print media, the court restrained the print and electronic media publishing Justice Swami's
contemptuous statements and orders, if any. The gag order constituted a serious violation of freedom
of the media, which is implicit in the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution under Article
19(1)(a). News Channel Indiana 24*7 on behalf of all leading media houses filed the Writ Petition before
the Hon'ble Apex court against the said gag order.

Furthermore, the Apex Court ordered immediate arrest of Justice Swami. Since then Justice Swami has
been evading arrest and is absconding. In May 2017, Justice Swami retired after attaining 62 years of
Age. Counsel on behalf of Justice Swami has filed Special Leave Petition before the Apex Court
seeking quashing of the sentence order.

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10 -The Apex Court of Indiana in the interest of justice clubbed the following 3 matters given their inter
connection and listed them for final hearing:-

i. Writ Petition No. 45 of 2017 filed by News Channel Indiana 24*7 on behalf of all leading
media against the order restraining the print and electronic media publishing Justice
Swami's contemptuous statements and orders.

ii. SLP No. 567 of 2017 filed by 7 Judges of Hon'ble Apex Court against the order passed
by Justice Swami sentencing 7 judges for five-year rigorous imprisonment under the
SC/ST Atrocities Act-1989 and amended Act of 2015 and contempt of the Court.

iii. SLP No. 987 of 2017 filed by Counsel on behalf of Justice Swami for quashing of the
sentence order passed by Hon'ble Apex Court under Contempt proceeding.

Some of the arguments raised by the parties to the proceedings are as under:-

I- By Counsel on behalf of Justice Swami

1 - No contempt either civil or criminal can be initiated against a sitting High Court Judge under Sections
2©, 12 and 14 of the Contempt of Courts Act or under Article 20 of the Constitution of Indiana . But
subverting all cannons of justice the Chief Justice of Indiana and 6 other judges, due to pre-conceived
prejudicial notion have initiated the above mentioned unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional suo-motu
contempt proceedings only with the view to somehow punish a sitting Judge of the High Court
belonging to a Scheduled Caste community.

2 - It is also a well-known fact that only a motion of impeachment can be initiated against a sitting Judge of
the higher judiciary before the Parliament after due enquiry under the Judges' Enquiry Act.

3 - All the seven Judges of the Apex Court are accused under the SC/ST Atrocities Act, therefore the
Hon'ble Judges have no locus standi to proceed the contempt proceedings against Justice Swami.

II-By Counsel on behalf of the 7 Judges of Hon'ble Apex Court

1 - The contemnor has been in the habit of addressing letters containing allegations of corruption and
commission of various offences by the Judges and successive Chief Justices of the Dravida High
Court. None of the allegations leveled by Justice Swami were supported by any material. His
allegations were malicious and defamatory, and pointedly by name, against many of the concerned
Judges. He carried his insinuations to the public at large, in the first instance, by endorsing his letters
carefully so as to widely circulate the contents of his communications, to the desired circles.

2 - If the contemnor believed and had the material with him to establish that some of the Judges of the
Dravida Nadu High Court are corrupt or otherwise guilty of some offences known to law, he was
required to approach the appropriate forum competent to examine those allegations.

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3 - The contemnor appears to be oblivious of one of the fundamental principles of law that a
complainant/informant cannot be a judge in his own complaint. The contemnor on more than one
occasion “passed orders purporting to be in exercise of his judicial functions commanding various
authorities of the states to take legal action against various judges of the Dravida Nadu High Court on
the basis of the allegations made by him from time to time.

4 - The contemnor never allowed the inquiry in the right direction. On the other hand, he chose to question
the jurisdiction of this Court to initiate contempt proceedings against him not on the ground that his
activity did not constitute contempt, but on the ground that no contempt proceedings could be initiated
against a Judge of a High Court.

5 - The conduct of the contemnor during the pendency of the proceedings in the Apex Court certainly
constitutes criminal contempt falling both under the heads of scandalizing the court as well as
interference with the proceedings of the court. The contemnor is therefore liable to be punished for the
contempt of the Apex court.

III- By Counsel on behalf of News Channel Indiana 24*7 and other print & electronic media:-
1 - The impugned gag order passed by the Apex Court is Prima facie unconstitutional as it is violative of
Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution as well as the law laid down by the Apex Court in the landmark case
of Sahara vs SEBI, popularly known as the “Media Guidelines Case” which lays the down the law that
“the postponement orders curtailing the freedom of expression of third parties, should be passed only
when it is necessary to prevent real and substantial risk to the fairness of the trial (court proceedings).
In the present case there was no real or substantial risk of prejudice of fairness of the trial.

2 - The Apex Court cannot impede the media from publishing such statements because the media was
not the one on trial for contempt of court. Under the Constitution, the freedom of speech and expression
can be curtailed only on reasonable grounds.

Counsels are allowed to frame relevant issues within the given facts only. Introduction of
additional facts will attract penalty.

The laws of Union of Indiana are pari-materia with the laws of Union of India.

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