4th Nationwide Moot Court Competition 2026 at CGC University, Mohali [22-24 October; Cash Prizes Rs 87,300; Register by 5 October]

The Moot Court Society of the School of Legal Studies, CGC University, Mohali is holding the 4th Nationwide Moot Court Competition, 2026 on its campus from 22 to 24 October 2026. The brochure describes the competition as a platform for law students across the country to sharpen analytical and argumentative skills through research, legal writing and oral advocacy in a courtroom setting, and to build confidence in handling the situations that arise during courtroom practice.

The Moot Court Society bears sole responsibility for organising the competition, and the Organising Committee has the exclusive authority to interpret and enforce the rules. English is the sole official language for memorials, oral arguments, clarifications and all correspondence.

The School of Legal Studies is an academic vertical of CGC University, Mohali, established in 2025 under the Chandigarh Educational Society. The school runs a 3-year LL.B. programme along with 5-year integrated law programmes, and its facilities include a fully equipped moot court, libraries and digital learning resources. The competition is chaired by Prof. (Dr.) J.P. Yadav, Dean of the School of Legal Studies, with Dr. Gurdeep Kaur and Dr. Jaskaran Singh as Moot Court Society advisory members and Mr. Pankaj Sahotra and Ms. Tanvi Gupta as faculty convenors.

The proposition is set in the fictional Republic of Aurelia and turns on a bail petition arising out of a technology-enabled financial fraud investigation involving "mule accounts", social-engineering and the seizure of digital devices. It engages the Aurelian Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the Aurelian Information Technology Act, 2000, the Aurelian Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Aurelian Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

The High Court has framed issues on the exercise of inherent and constitutional jurisdiction where continued incarceration is said to be disproportionate; on the State's bulk acquisition and retention of the personal data of roughly 12,400 users without a specific judicial order; on the search of the petitioner's shop and the copying of data from unrelated customers' devices without a prior warrant; and on the scope of the investigative exemption under the data protection statute. Clarifications on the proposition had to be sought by 1 October 2026 at the official email, with clarifications released on 3 October 2026.

The competition is open only to students enrolled bona fide on a regular basis in an undergraduate law programme (BA LL.B., B.Com. LL.B. or BBA LL.B.) or a three-year LL.B. programme at a law school, institution, college or university recognised by the Bar Council of India.

• Each team must have a minimum of two and a maximum of three members.
• A three-member team has two speakers and one researcher.
• In a two-member team, both members are speakers and one carries the dual role of speaker and researcher.
• On verification of registration each team receives a team code ("TC-XX") to be used for all correspondence, memorials and oral rounds; team and institutional identity must not be disclosed at any stage.

Registration is completed by filling the official Google Form and attaching proof of payment as a JPEG, JPG or PDF file. The deadline for completing final registration with payment is 11:59 PM IST on 5 October 2026.

• Registration fee: Rs 4,500 per team, non-refundable, excluding accommodation.
• Account name: School of Legal Studies
• Account number: 50100847002168
• Bank: HDFC, Jhanjeri, Mohali branch
• IFSC: HDFC0003578

Each team must prepare memorials for both the Petitioner and the Respondent. Soft copies in PDF and DOCX are to be submitted through the memorial submission form with the subject line "Submission of Memorial by [Team Code]" by 11:59 PM IST on 10 October 2026. Every hour of delay carries a penalty of one mark. Eight printed copies, four for each side, are to be handed over on arrival at the university on 22 October 2026.

• Cover page colour: blue for the Petitioner, red for the Respondent.
• Arguments Advanced must not exceed 25 pages; the total memorial including the cover must not exceed 40 pages.
• Times New Roman, size 12 for body and 10 for footnotes; 1.5 line spacing for body and single for footnotes; 1 inch margins; pagination at the bottom-right.
• Citation style: Indian Law Institute (ILI) method.
• Statement of Facts and Summary of Arguments must each stay within two pages.
• Only the team code may appear as identification. Participant or institution names cause disqualification.

There is a Researcher's Test on day one, and the researcher scoring highest in it is declared Best Researcher. Two Preliminary Rounds follow, in which every team argues once for each side with sides decided by draw of lots; the top eight teams on marks advance to the Quarter Final. The Quarter Final and Semi Final rounds are knockouts, taking four teams and then two into the Final.

• Preliminary and Quarter Final rounds: 25 minutes per team, with up to 3 minutes for rebuttal and surrebuttal at the judges' discretion, and a minimum of 10 minutes per speaker.
• Semi Final: 30 minutes per team, up to 5 minutes for rebuttal and surrebuttal, minimum 10 minutes per speaker.
• Final: 35 minutes per team, up to 5 minutes for rebuttal and surrebuttal, minimum 15 minutes per speaker.
• Oral rounds are marked out of 100 across ten heads of 10 marks each, including application of facts, application of legal principles, use of precedents, court mannerism and response to forum questions.
• Memorials are marked out of 100 across understanding of facts and law, development of arguments, use of authorities, mode of citation and compliance, and language and presentation.
• Scouting by any speaker, researcher or affiliated person leads to immediate disqualification, as does receiving external assistance or using electronic devices during active rounds.

Male participants are to wear a white formal shirt, black formal trousers, a black tie, a black blazer or suit coat and black formal shoes. Female participants are to wear a white formal shirt or kurti, black formal trousers, salwar or equivalent formal attire, a black blazer or suit coat and black formal footwear. Failure to comply may attract penalties.

The registration fee excludes accommodation and participants are required to make their own arrangements, though the Organising Committee may be approached for local recommendations and assistance. The competition includes a DJ social evening with live music and student performances, for which the dress theme is Indian traditional.