7th Kerala Law Academy National Trial Advocacy Competition 2026, Thiruvananthapuram (Hybrid; Cash Prizes Rs 25,000)

The Kerala Law Academy Law College, Peroorkada, Thiruvananthapuram, was established in 1966. It is affiliated to the University of Kerala and approved by the Bar Council of India, and offers three-year and five-year LL.B. programmes along with LL.M. and doctoral research. The college runs a long-standing competition calendar through its Moot Court Society, including the All India Moot Court Competition for the Kerala Law Academy Trophy (held annually since 1990) and the National Client Consulting Competition for the Justice P. Govindan Menon Trophy (since 2000). The Trial Advocacy Competition is administered by the Director of the Academy, the Trial Court Forum and the Moot Court Society.

The 7th Kerala Law Academy Trial Advocacy Competition 2026 is a hybrid criminal trial simulation. It follows the principles and procedures of an Indian Criminal Trial Court and is designed to give participants practical insight into how a criminal trial is actually conducted, from witness briefings and chief and cross examination through to final arguments.

The procedural law applied is the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), which replaced the CrPC, IPC and the Indian Evidence Act respectively. The law and procedure for the competition will be in pari materia with Indian law. The official language throughout is English, and communication in any other language results in immediate disqualification.

• Open to all law colleges, law schools, universities and departments of law in India recognised by the Bar Council of India.
• Open to LL.B. students from both the three-year and the five-year integrated courses.
• Each team shall comprise a maximum of three members: two speakers and one researcher. The composition must be confirmed at the time of registration, and any change must be communicated to the organisers on or before 1 September 2026. Once finalised, no rearrangement of roles is permitted at any stage.
• Multiple teams from the same institution may participate, provided they have the explicit permission of their institution.
• No coach, assistant or external person may remain in the courtroom during any round. Only the researcher may be in the room with the speakers during online rounds.

The competition runs over four rounds.

• Round One - Procedural Test: all provisionally registered teams must appear. The researcher of each team sits an online viva-voce of 30 objective questions in 25 minutes, drawn from the BNSS, BNS and BSA. Each correct answer carries 4 marks and 1 mark is deducted for each wrong answer. The top 15 teams qualify for the Preliminary Rounds; ties are broken by an additional set of five questions.
• Round Two - Preliminary Rounds: two sessions, with every team arguing once for the Prosecution and once for the Defence. The top four teams on cumulative marks advance.
• Round Three - Semi-Final: a knockout round on 20 September 2026, one session per team, with the winner of each chamber going through.
• Round Four - Final: a single trial session between the two semi-final winners, held offline on 10 October 2026.

Each round runs for approximately two hours and 24 minutes: 25 minutes of prosecution witness briefing, two minutes each for opening statements, 50 minutes of prosecution witness examination (20 minutes chief, 30 minutes cross), a 10-minute defence witness briefing, 20 minutes of defence witness examination (10 minutes each), a five-minute preparation break and 15 minutes of final arguments per side. Judges may grant a grace period of up to 10 minutes.

Marking criteria are the ability to conduct examination, articulation and presentation of arguments, understanding of procedural law, knowledge and application of law, knowledge and use of facts, witness management and courtroom etiquette.

• A set number of prosecution and defence witnesses is allotted by the organisers. Either side may choose to examine or abandon any allotted witness; the prosecution communicates this at the witness briefing 25 minutes before the round and the defence at the briefing 10 minutes before.
• All evidentiary material, including documents and annexures, is supplied by the organisers. No new documentary evidence and no additional witnesses may be introduced.
• Teams may screen-share the supplied material if they inform the ushers at least 24 hours in advance, and must not reveal anything identifying while doing so.

Provisional registration is by e-mail. Interested institutions and teams should write to klatrialadvocacy@keralalawacademy.in. The last date for registration is 1 September 2026.

Fee: the initial registration fee is Rs 1,000 per team, non-refundable, payable through the college website. Teams that qualify through the Procedural Test must pay a further Rs 2,600, with payment details and a link shared after selection; that additional payment is due by 13 September 2026. A copy of the transaction, screenshot or photo, must be e-mailed to klatrialadvocacy@keralalawacademy.in. Registration is complete only after the organisers acknowledge it. The organisers will not be responsible for payment errors caused by banks or third-party applications.

Please note: the Google Form link printed in the brochure and reproduced by media outlets resolves to the closed registration form of the 6th edition. Teams should therefore initiate registration by writing to the competition e-mail address above and ask the organisers for the current proforma.

• Anonymity is mandatory. Participants must not reveal their identity or that of their institution at any stage, and no college or university logo may be visible. Teams may not observe the rounds of other teams, and scouting leads to immediate disqualification.
• Dress code is advocate's attire: white shirt with black trousers, black blazer and black tie for male participants; white shirt or kurta with black churidar trousers or formal pants and a black blazer for female participants, in each case without institutional logos.
• Online rounds run on Zoom or Google Meet. Participants must use a desktop or laptop, not a mobile phone, must use earphones unless medically exempted and communicated in advance, and must keep cameras on throughout. Links and passcodes are shared on the competition WhatsApp group 15 to 20 minutes before each round, and teams must join at least 15 minutes early. A technical assistant will be present in each virtual courtroom.
• Requests for clarification must be e-mailed with the subject line specified by the organisers, and the deadline for clarifications is 8 September 2026.
• Disputes go to an Appeal Committee comprising the Principal of Kerala Law Academy as President and two senior faculty members; its decision is final and binding. The organisers reserve the right to modify the rules.