4th Al-Ameen National Moot Court Competition 2026, Shoranur (Prize Pool Rs 1,00,000)

Al-Ameen Law College, Kulappully, Shoranur, Palakkad, is one of the flagship institutions of the Al-Ameen Educational Group. The brochure records that it is recognised by the Bar Council of India and affiliated to the University of Calicut.

The college describes itself as committed to developing competent, ethical and socially responsible legal professionals, combining academic work with practical legal training. It states that it has built collaborations with the judiciary, government institutions, legal practitioners, industry and the community, and that it runs moot court competitions, trial advocacy programmes, legal aid initiatives, seminars, workshops and internships so students gain practical exposure alongside their coursework.

The Al-Ameen Moot Society is described in the brochure as the official mooting body of the college, set up to promote advocacy, legal research, drafting and oral argumentation. It organises intra-collegiate and national-level moot court competitions, trial advocacy competitions, client counselling sessions, judgment writing competitions and legal research workshops, along with orientation programmes, training sessions and mentorship for new mooters. It functions under the guidance of faculty members, is led by a student committee, and facilitates interaction with judges, academicians and senior advocates.

Welcome messages in the brochure come from Sri. K.P. Kamarudheen, Secretary of the Al-Ameen Educational Trust, Dr. Ahamed Iqbal V.T., Principal, and Dr. Sunitha P.N., Vice Principal.

Al-Ameen Law College, Shoranur, is hosting the 4th Al-Ameen National Moot Court Competition 2026 on its campus from 9 to 12 September 2026. The rulebook and the brochure head every page "4th NATIONAL MOOT COMPETITION".

The language of the competition is English, and all oral and written submissions must be made in English only.

The competition comprises two stages:

• Memorial Submission: registered teams submit soft copies and hard copies of their memorials as instructed.
• Oral Rounds: only 12 teams qualify. Qualification is based on the Memorial Evaluation Round, and the 12 teams securing the highest memorial scores advance. The Oral Rounds also include the Researcher's Test and Interview.

On interpretation of the rules, the rulebook states that the organising institution and organisers have the final authority to interpret and amend the provisions of the rulebook, that they reserve the right to make changes as deemed necessary, and that any changes made are communicated to participating teams through the official email ID.

The competition is open for registration to all students pursuing either a 3-year or a 5-year Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) programme.

• Two or more teams may register from a particular University, College or Law School. The rulebook sets no upper cap.
• A team is not permitted to have members from more than one University, College or Law School.
• Each team comprises three members: two perform the role of speaker and one is the researcher in the Researcher's Interview.
• Substitution of any team member is not permitted after the registration deadline, except under exceptional circumstances and only with the prior written permission of the organisers.

The moot proposition, Deepak Mehra & Anr. v. Union of Dharmasthan & Ors., was released on 23 July 2026. It is set in the Republic of Dharmasthan, whose laws are in pari materia with the laws of India as of 1 June 2026, and turns on the fictitious Digital Safety and Algorithmic Transparency Act, 2023 (the DSAT Act), automated deepfake takedowns by the Central Content Regulation Authority using the SATHYA V2.0 system built by NeuroTrace Technologies Pvt. Ltd., and the interaction between the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the Right to Information Act. The petitioners have approached the Supreme Court of Dharmasthan under Article 32.

The four issues raised are:

• Whether Section 5(2) of the DSAT Act is unconstitutional for rendering an automated determination final and non-appealable.
• Whether the broad, safeguard-deficient state exemptions under Section 17 of the DPDP Act are manifestly arbitrary and void for vagueness under Article 14.
• Whether the rejection of Ms Sharma's RTI application under Sections 8(1)(a) and 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act is legally sustainable.
• Whether the DPDP Act's amendment removing the public-interest override under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act violates the Right to Know guaranteed under Articles 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution.

The proposition's Note to Participants fixes what is and is not arguable, and teams should read it closely:

• The DSAT Act, 2023 is fictitious and is not pari materia to any law in India.
• All parties admit the video was satirical parody with no intent to deceive; the legal dispute is whether that fact is dispositive given the electoral-timing evidence.
• The 11.7 per cent false-positive figure and the respondents' small-sample objection to it are both contested but arguable on the record.
• The scope of the 2024 KeralaPuram High Court administrative order referenced in the facts is deliberately undefined; participants must argue its applicability, not assume it.
• The causal link between the CCRA classification and the college's disciplinary hold is disputed and must be argued, not assumed.
• Participants may note, purely as persuasive and not binding context, that similarly framed challenges to the DPDP Act's amendment of RTI Section 8(1)(j) and its Section 17 exemptions are sub judice before the Supreme Court of India as of mid-2026.
• Memorials shall not exceed 25 pages, excluding the cover page and table of contents.
• Participants may change the order of the issues if convenient, and are free to frame sub-issues and make other arguments they deem fit, but counsel for both sides must address the issues and arguments specifically mentioned in the proposition.
• Issues pertaining to maintainability of the proceeding or the Supreme Court's jurisdiction must not be argued.

Teams register by completing the registration process, which includes making payment and submitting the Final Registration Form, no later than 3 August 2026 (11:59 p.m. IST). Incomplete registration forms will not be accepted. On successful completion of the form, teams receive an email from the organisers within five working days confirming registration, and that email carries the team code and the moot problem. The team code must be quoted in all later communication with the organisers.

The fee for registration and participation is:

• INR 5,000 per team without accommodation.
• INR 6,000 per team with accommodation.

On the payment route, the rulebook says: "The payment for registration shall be done through the online-payment link provided in the brochure, via online transfer. Details of the same must also be attached in the Final Registration Form. Also a screenshot of the payment shall sent to ph:+91 7012147291". Readers should note that no online-payment link is in fact printed in the brochure. The only QR code on the brochure is captioned "SCAN TO REGISTER" and resolves to the Google registration form, so teams should confirm the payment route with the organisers before transferring money.

The account details published in the rulebook are, in full:

• Account Operator: Principal Al-Ameen Law College
• Name of Bank: SBI Pattambi
• Bank Account No: 35712465970
• IFSC Code: SBIN0004404

The rulebook publishes no UPI ID, no QR code for payment and no payment gateway link. Do not pay to any handle or account other than the one printed above, and verify the details against the rulebook before transferring.

If a team is not selected for the Oral Rounds after the Memorial Evaluation Round, Rs 1,500 is retained by the organising committee towards the Memorial Evaluation Fee and the remaining registration fee is refunded to the team.

The registration form itself is a Google Form that requires a Google sign-in, so its exact field list cannot be verified from the published material. The only upload or attachment the official documents mention is the payment detail to be attached in the Final Registration Form, plus the payment screenshot to be sent to +91 70121 47291.

Every participating team must prepare memorials for both sides of the moot proposition, for the Petitioner and for the Respondent. Failure to submit memorials for both sides attracts penalties as determined by the organising committee.

Soft copies, and a conflict in the rulebook. The rulebook gives two different routes for the soft copy and does not reconcile them. Its Memorial Submission section says each team shall submit the memorials for both sides "in PDF format and the Word file both for the Moot Problem on or before 1st september 2026 (11:59 P.M. IST) via the Google form circulated". Clause 7 of the Memorials section says instead that the "Soft copy shall be submitted through (email) in a pdf format", and clause 8 prescribes an email subject line, "Memorials (Team Code) - 4th Al- Ameen National Moot Court Competition, 2026". Both instructions are in the same official rulebook, so teams should ask the organisers which route applies before 1 September 2026.

File naming: each soft copy is named with the allotted team code followed by the first letter of the side argued, that is A for Appellants, P for Petitioners or Plaintiffs, R for Respondents and D for Defendants. Team code 25 files its Petitioner memorial as 25P and its Respondent memorial as 25R. One mark is deducted for each wrongly named file. Teams are asked to submit soft copies well in time and to confirm with the organisers that the attachments can be viewed.

Late submission: memorials submitted after 11:59 p.m. IST on 1 September 2026 incur a deduction of 1 point for each day of delay, made from the cumulative memorial score only. Memorials submitted after 11:59 p.m. IST on 2 September 2026 will not be evaluated or accepted and the team stands disqualified. Clause 9 separately states that no extension date will be given and that late submission of memorials attracts a penalty of 1 mark in the memorial evaluation.

Hard copies, and a second conflict. The Memorial Submission section requires "a total of four (4) hard copies of each side of the memorial" at the registration desk at Al-Ameen Law College, Shoranur, on 9 September 2026, while clause 10 of the Memorials section says teams "shall bring 3 hard copies of each side of the memorials" and submit them at the registration desk on 9 September 2026 before the commencement of the inaugural ceremony. Teams should confirm the exact number with the organisers. Clause 11 adds that failure to submit the required hard copies within the stipulated time may attract penalties.

Cover pages: the Petitioner memorial takes a blue cover page and the Respondent memorial a red cover page. A penalty of 1 mark is levied for a wrong cover. The cover page must carry the team code on the upper right hand side corner, the cause title, and the party for which the memorial has been prepared.

Anonymity: memorials may carry no form of identification apart from the team code. Any identification, mark or symbol that has the effect of identifying the team results in instant disqualification.

Required contents: cover page, table of contents, index of authorities, statement of jurisdiction, statement of facts, issues raised, summary of arguments, arguments advanced and prayer. No annexures or appendices are permitted unless specifically allowed by the organising committee.

Formatting requirements:

• Paper size: A4, margin 1 inch on all sides
• Font: Times New Roman, size 12 for text and size 10 for footnotes
• Line spacing: 1.5 for text, single for footnotes
• Text alignment: justified
• Citation format: The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (20th Edition)
• Page limit: 25 pages, excluding cover page and table of contents (from the proposition's Note to Participants)

Memorial marking, out of 100:

• Use of facts and law: 20
• Proper and articulate analysis: 20
• Research: 20
• Formatting and analysis: 20
• Organization of memorial: 10
• Grammer and style: 10

Preliminary rounds. There are two preliminary rounds. Teams argue on the opted side, determined by draw of lots. Each team gets 30 minutes to present its case including time for rebuttals. A team that exercises its right of rebuttal entitles the opposing team to a sur-rebuttal, which is strictly confined to answering the issues raised during the rebuttal and may not introduce new arguments. Any extra time allotted to a speaker is at the discretion of the judges. The division of time between speakers is at the team's discretion, subject to a maximum of 15 minutes for one speaker, and before the commencement of each round each team must indicate to the court officer how it wishes to allocate its 30 minutes. The top 8 teams qualify for the quarter-finals, decided on the total win points in both preliminary rounds, with teams having higher scores in the oral rounds (excluding memorial scores) proceeding. In the event of a tie, qualification is determined on the aggregate score calculated in the ratio Oral Rounds : Memorial Scores = 70 : 30.

Quarter-final round. Sides determined by draw of lots, knockout basis, 30 minutes per team including rebuttal and sur-rebuttal, maximum 15 minutes for one speaker, allocation indicated to the court officer. Four teams advance to the semi-final round.

Semi-final round. Sides determined by draw of lots, knockout basis, 40 minutes per team including rebuttal and sur-rebuttal, maximum 20 minutes for one speaker. Two teams advance to the final round.

Final round. Sides determined by draw of lots, 40 minutes per team including rebuttal and sur-rebuttal, maximum 20 minutes for one speaker, winner decided on knockout basis.

The rulebook notes that the time limits prescribed are subject to change at the discretion of the organising committee, depending on the circumstances and requirements of the competition.

Oral marking, out of 50 for each of Speaker 1 and Speaker 2: preparation and familiarity with facts (10), structure of legal arguments (10), organisation, presentation and speaking ability (10), knowledge and application of law (10), responsiveness to question (5) and courtroom etiquette (5).

Researcher's Test and Interview. It is mandatory for each researcher of the participating teams to take the Researcher's Interview, and the speaker is not eligible to participate in the test. The score in the Researcher's Test is used to adjudicate the Best Researcher award. The test is conducted offline during the competition on 9 September 2026, with the exact time conveyed by official email, and runs for one hour. The Researcher's Interview is conducted at the discretion of the judges. The researcher cannot communicate with team members or anyone else during the test, and is not allowed to use any written material or electronic devices during the interview and test; contravention leads to disqualification.

The Researcher's Evaluation comprises the Researcher's Test, being 50 multiple-choice questions carrying 2 marks each for a total of 100 marks, and the Researcher's Interview, which the rulebook's prose puts at 50 marks. Note that the rulebook's own interview table is internally inconsistent: its six components are knowledge of law (10), research methodology (10), analytical and critical thinking (10), memorial preparation (5), communication and presentation skill (5) and problem solving and response (10), which sum to 50, but the table prints TOTAL 100. Teams should ask the organisers which figure governs.

Clarifications, and a conflict between the two official documents. The rulebook says teams can seek clarification on the moot proposition by 15 August 2026 and that all teams receive the list of clarifications by 17 August 2026, and that clarifications may be sought via the Clarification Link only, with no clarification sought through email being considered. The moot proposition contradicts this: item 8 of its Note to Participants reads "No further clarifications shall be entertained. Participants are to make reasonable assumptions on facts and law where necessary, and must state such assumptions in their memorials." The two official documents disagree, and teams should put the question to the organisers. Separately, no Clarification Link is published in the brochure, the rulebook, the proposition or the organiser's Drive folder, so as the material stands a team has no published route by which to comply with the rulebook's instruction.

Dress code. Formals throughout the competition. For gentlemen, a white formal shirt, black formal trousers and a black blazer. For ladies, the rulebook reads "Formals - white formal shirt, black formal trousers, and a black blazer; OR." The sentence breaks off after "OR" in the official document, so a second permitted option appears to have been intended but was never printed; ladies' teams should confirm with the organisers. The black blazer is mandatory. Robes and collar bands in the attire are strictly prohibited.

Accommodation and food. Accommodation is provided only to teams that opted and paid for it, from 12:00 p.m. on 9 September 2026 to 12:00 p.m. on 12 September 2026. Food is provided for the same duration and is strictly limited to three members per team. Transportation is provided from the accommodation to the venue. Teams are responsible for reaching the venue of the competition at the designated time for participation and registration.

Scouting. Scouting by any person on behalf of any team must be brought to the notice of the organisers immediately, without disturbing the round in progress. Any team found scouting is disqualified immediately. Participating students are allowed to observe the Final Round as per the instructions provided by the organisers.

Conduct and miscellaneous rules. Participants shall only use their team code for identification. Any reference to the identity of a team's institution or individual members, either during oral arguments or in the memorial, may lead to disqualification. The rules must be strictly adhered to, the organisers reserve the right to disqualify teams for deviating from them, and the organisers are the final arbiters on any doubts or grievances; the rules are stated not to be exhaustive. The organisers reserve the right to modify, change or amend the rules at any point before, during or after the competition. Any misconduct in the form of discrimination or harassment, verbal, written or physical, which shows aversion or hostility towards any individual, participant or organising committee member, may lead to disqualification, and any kind of provoking, misbehaviour or mockery towards the opponent team during the oral rounds is strictly prohibited and leads to disqualification. The organisers may impose penalties and, in severe cases, disqualify or blacklist members from future editions.

Copyright and recording. The organisers hold the copyright in the written submissions and are not responsible for any loss caused to any person or institution by virtue of any content in them. The right of audio and video taping, including any other form of reproduction, of the oral submissions in all rounds vests with the organisers. Teams must follow all rules and regulations of the organiser's institution, including its Code of Conduct.

All queries relating to the problem, marking and similar matters may be directed by email to alcmootcourt@gmail.com.

The brochure names the following organising team:

• General Convenor: Dr. Rajitha E., Asst. Professor, Al-Ameen Law College, Shoranur
• Faculty Coordinators: Reshma K. Nair and Saritha S. Menon, both Asst. Professor, Al-Ameen Law College, Shoranur
• Moot Club Secretary: Natasha Jaffar
• Student Coordinators: Razin Zaheer, Muhsin Mubarak Ali, Sreedevi M, Eldhose Reji, Arshina Sherin K, Gouri Nandana C.K, Ashwathy P, Shahana T.S, Fathima Hiba K and Dhananjay E.S

The brochure prints phone numbers for Dr. Rajitha E., Reshma K. Nair, Saritha S. Menon and Natasha Jaffar only; no numbers or individual email addresses are published for the student coordinators.

Under "For any further details reach out to us on", the brochure back page gives the email alcmootcourt@gmail.com and the Instagram handle lokah.alameen (the account is Lokah Students Forum, Al-Ameen Law College).

Getting there: the nearest railway station is Shoranur Railway Station, about 5.3 km away. The nearest airports are Kozhikode International Airport, about 78 km, and Kochi International Airport, about 87 km.