1st Teerthanker Mahaveer National Moot Court Competition 2026 at TMU, Moradabad [Virtual; 28-30 Oct; Cash Prizes Worth Rs 30,500]: Register by 22 Oct

Teerthanker Mahaveer College of Law and Legal Studies, Teerthanker Mahaveer University (TMU), Moradabad, is hosting the 1st Teerthanker Mahaveer National Moot Court Competition, 2026, under the theme 'In Pursuit of Advocacy, Argument & Justice'. The competition is virtual and paperless: registration, memorial submission, judging and certificates are all handled online, and the oral rounds run on Zoom, Google Meet or MS Teams from 28 to 30 October 2026. The language of the competition is English.

TMU was established in 2008 under Act No. 30 of the Government of Uttar Pradesh and is recognised by the UGC. The College of Law and Legal Studies, established in 2010, offers Bar Council of India approved programmes including B.A.LL.B (Hons), B.Com.LL.B (Hons), B.B.A.LL.B (Hons) and a one-year LLM.

The proposition, Imroz Talukdar & Ors. v. Union of Ashvatha & Anr., is a writ petition under Article 32 before the Supreme Court of Ashvatha concerning residents of a former enclave who were left out of a citizenship order after a boundary exchange, declared foreigners by a Foreigners Tribunal, and then detained and ordered to be removed. The laws of Ashvatha are in pari materia with the laws of India as they stood on 1 March 2026. The Court has framed four issues:

• Whether the Article 32 petition is maintainable when the High Court dismissed an Article 226 petition on the same subject matter and no special leave petition was filed in time.
• Whether the Petitioners became citizens on incorporation of the enclave or, for those born after the Appointed Day, by birth.
• Whether the Petitioners are entitled to the benefit of the proviso to Section 2(1)(b) and Section 6B of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and whether those provisions, as applied to them, violate Articles 14 and 21.
• Whether the detention and proposed removal of the Petitioners are in accordance with law and consistent with Articles 14 and 21.

The full proposition is in the official brochure. Clarification queries go by email to tmumootcourtcommittee@gmail.com by 12 October 2026; clarifications are released on 14 October 2026 and only those issued by the Organising Committee are binding.

• Open to students enrolled in UG (3-year LL.B. or 5-year integrated) and PG (LL.M.) law programmes at recognised law schools and universities across India.
• Each team has three members (two speakers and one researcher). Two-member teams are also permitted: both members are speakers and one of them also acts as researcher, to be declared in the registration form. The fee and judging criteria are the same.
• A maximum of one team per institution may participate, and all members must belong to the same institution.
• An authorisation or nomination letter from the Head of the institution (Principal, Dean or HoD) is mandatory for every team.

• Memorial evaluation: both memorials of every team are evaluated by independent evaluators and count towards the preliminary ranking.
• Preliminary rounds (2): each team argues once for the Petitioner and once for the Respondent before a Division Bench. Ranking is memorial marks (30%) plus oral marks (70%).
• Quarter-finals (top 8) before a Division Bench, semi-finals (top 4) before a Full Bench, and the final (top 2) before a Constitutional Bench. If registrations exceed 24 teams, a pre-quarter-final knock-out round may be added.
• Preliminary rounds and quarter-finals: 25 minutes per team plus 5 minutes for rebuttal or sur-rebuttal. Semi-finals and final: 30 minutes per team plus 10 minutes for rebuttal or sur-rebuttal.
• Each participant must use a separate device with camera and microphone; cameras stay on throughout. Dress code is formal black and white advocate attire. Teams are identified only by their Team Code.

• Two memorials (Petitioner and Respondent) in PDF or Docx, emailed to tmumootcourtcommittee@gmail.com by 25 October 2026, 11:59 PM IST. No hard copies are required.
• Total 35 pages, of which arguments advanced must not exceed 25 pages. A4, Times New Roman 12 pt (footnotes 10 pt), 1.5 line spacing (1.0 for footnotes), justified, 1 inch margins. Citation in The Bluebook (latest edition).
• Cover page blue for the Petitioner and red for the Respondent, carrying only the Team Code. File name and email subject: TMTC_P and TMTC_R.
• Late submissions lose 5 marks per day. Similarity index must not exceed 20%. AI-generated content is not admissible and may be penalised or disqualified.

The registration fee is Rs 2,500 per team and is non-refundable once paid. Payment is by bank transfer or the payment QR; the bank details are in the official brochure. Registration is confirmed only after verification of the form, fee and documents.

Cash prizes worth Rs 30,500 in all: Winner Rs 11,000, 1st Runner-up Rs 8,100, 2nd Runner-up Rs 5,100, Best Speaker Rs 2,100, Best Memorial Rs 2,100 and Best Researcher Rs 2,100, each with a certificate of merit. All participants receive certificates of participation. Cash prizes are transferred to the bank account provided by the team within 30 days of the competition, and physical certificates are sent to the winning institutions by courier or post.

Fill in the online registration form (Google Form, linked on this page) on or before 22 October 2026. Pay the fee of Rs 2,500 per team and upload the payment proof (screenshot or transaction ID), the scanned ID cards of all team members and the mandatory authorisation or nomination letter from the Head of the institution. A confirmation email with the unique Team Code is sent within 24 hours of successful registration. For queries write to tmumootcourtcommittee@gmail.com or call the Convener or student coordinators listed below.