The issues that were being strongly debated in the political corridors of the Union Territory found resonance in the precincts of the Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College over the weekend.
The three-day 44th moot court, which concluded on Sunday, took up a combination of topics related to the administrative powers of an elected government in Puducherry.
Participants from 28 prominent law colleges in the country debated whether the recent judgment given by the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court in the Delhi Chief Minister versus the Lieutenant Governor case was applicable to Puducherry.
They also debated the powers of Union Territories vis-a-vis the appointment of Information Commissioners and Lokayuktas.
Principal of the College A. Vincent Arputham said the topics were selected as they were of prime importance to the U.T.
“The Speakers presented their views and on the merit of the argument winners were selected,” he said.
The competition was financed by M.P. Govindan Nambiar Foundation. The total prize money was ₹1.5 lakh.
Top honours
Surya, Jaya Govind and Govinda Krishnan of Sri Narayana Guru College of Legal Studies, Kollam, in Kerala were judged the winners of the competition. The runners up were Diksha Joshi, Sanjani and Geauravi of Sympiosis Law School, Noida. The prize money for the first prize was ₹ 50,000, while the runners-up received ₹ 30,000.
Taresh Bakshi of Symbiosis Law School, Pune, was judged the best student advocate and Rudra Roshan of Bharati Vidyapeeth, New Law College, Pune, was selected as the second best. They were presented ₹10,000 and ₹5,000 respectively. Sukanya S. and Rintu M. B of National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi, was selected for the best memorial.
Winners were felicitated by Justice M. Sundar and Justice Subramonium Prasad, both from the High Court of Madras and Senior Advocate Kaleeswaram Raj.