SVKM’s NMIMS Kirit P Mehta SOL, NMCC’18- Day 3, Final Rounds and Valedictory Ceremony

Day 3 of NMCC’18 commence with the Semi-Final Rounds, which created the perfect mood of competition all around Kirit P. Mehta School of Law.

The third day of NMCC’18 saw an undisturbed start as the Semi-final Rounds began on schedule at dot 10:00 a.m. With two Courtrooms in session, at the Mithibai Seminar Hall and the Moot court Hall of Pravin Gandhi Law College (PGCL), the semis proceeded from being an initially sober presentation of arguments by the Counsels to a tense attempt of persuasion, as the Speakers in both the Courts tried to answer the convoluting questions and disagreements of the judges with the best of their courtroom etiquettes.

The panel of Judges in Mithtibai Seminar hall consisted of Mr. Nitin Tike, Mrs. Bhargavi Zaveri, and Mr. Ashok Bhakta. A fiery round of questioning by the judges took place in this courtroom, which made the anxiety of the participants quite evident. However, the audience seemed to be deeply engrossed in grasping the depth of the interesting arguments advanced by the Counsels.

With the panel of judges in the PGCL Moot Court Hall consisting of Mr. Biju S., Mr. Jai Kishan Lakhwani, and Mrs. Padmaja Dholakia, the Counsels were faced with an equally challenging bout of questions from the judges. The Counsels on either side handled the questions of the judges in a graceful manner as they provided responses to all the questions. Overshooting their time, both the teams dealt with the fine aspects of the Moot Proposition and advanced their arguments, as well as, responses in a convincing fashion. The Semi-Finals thus ended on a note of suspense. The atmosphere began to regain calm only after the Result Declaration, wherein teams T01 and T18 were declared to be the teams qualifying for the finals.

After the result declaration, the participants, as well as organizers, enjoyed a quick lunch which was followed by the opening of the final rounds. The Court Room venue for the Finals was Santokba Hall, where the stage was beautifully set to host the esteemed judges and dignitaries.

The judges for the final rounds, Mr. Sujit Prasad, Mr. Gaurav Joshi, Mr. Mustafa Motiwala, Mr. Suommo Biswas and Mr. Soumitra Majumdar, added to the grandeur of the final rounds with their much-awaited presence.

The anchors for the event, Kathan Shukla, and Samarth Jaidev welcomed the judges and participants and provided a brief introduction of the esteemed judges.  The final round of arguments kick-started at 1:30 p.m.

The side for the Petitioner, team T 01, initiated the arguments. The first speaker was frequently interrupted by the judges. Some questions of the judges left the speaker short of words while she confidently replied to the other questions. When questioned about the interpretation of certain provisions the first speaker confidently relied on an authoritative book to assert her argument. Despite pleading ignorance, when asked for case laws to prove one of her arguments, the speaker managed to convince the judge based on reliance on facts.  The second speaker held on to his arguments despite the deviating interjections put in by the judges. The speaker was also able to answer the judges when questioned on the contradictory submission of the Petitioner. The speaker articulated his submission in a determined tone. The opposing team has seen to be alert throughout the course of the arguments made by the Petitioner. The Petitioner thus ended their arguments with utmost grace.

The side for the Respondent, team T 18,   began their submissions as the first speakers put forth by the defensively put forth the arguments for the Respondent. The speaker replied to the question of the judges by addressing the question from the base to the tip i.e. by providing a comprehensive understanding of the reply she intended to provide. Running out of time, the speaker summed up her arguments with reliance on regulations. The second speaker for the Respondent began to advance arguments with calm and was then asked by the judges to collate his arguments with the prayers of the submission. The speaker effectively established this link as his proceeded with his arguments and also managed to reply the question of the judges while doing so.

The arguments of the rebuttal rounds were heavily based on facts and each side provided vehement opposition to the arguments of the opposing Counsels. The ingenuity of the overall arguments of both sides left the audience amazed and enriched.

After the rounds, each of the distinguished judges addressed the participants and students. They congratulated the Finalist, the participants, as well as the organizers for their efforts. They also encouraged the participants with anecdotes of their professional experience and rich expertise. The address of the judges was indeed insightful for all those present.

Valedictory Ceremony

After a brief interval, the program then entered its last and most anticipated phase, the Valedictory Ceremony. The ceremony was graced with the presence of esteemed dignitaries associated with NMIMS deemed-to-be University, including, Shri. Kirit P. Mehta, Patron of NMIMS School of Law, Shri Harshal Shah, Mentor NMIMS, Shri Shalin Divatia, and Smt. Meena Chintamaneni, Registrar NMIMS. The Chief Guest for the ceremony was Mr. Sandeep Ghosh, Director NISM (National Institute of Securities Markets).

The dignitaries addressed the participants and audience and congratulated the participants for embarking on the journey of learning by participating in the competition. Shri Kirit P. Mehta spoke about the significance of Securities and Corporate Law in the current times and conveyed his festive greetings on the auspicious day of Gudi Padwa to all those present. Shri Harshal Shah appreciated the mooters and complimented them for being able to well present their arguments before an expert panel, and more so for being able to answer the questions which the panel posed from the weight of their experience. He also stressed on the need for law students to try to develop themselves as “job creators” and not as mere “job seekers”.

Shri Shalin Divatia raised the morale of the students present, with his words of foresight, as he discussed the future scope of law professionals. Dr. Chintamaneni praised the commitment of the participants and the efforts of the Organising Committee. The Chief Guest, Mr. Sandeep Ghosh, guided the students with tips to develop skills that can help them excel in their chosen careers.

This was followed by the moment of pronouncement, the declaration of results.  The following bagged the coveted titles and awards of NMCC 2.0 :

• Best Speaker- Niyati Shah, DES Pune, Rs. 10,000 and books.
• Best Memorial- NUSRL Ranchi, Rs. 15,000 and books.
• Runner Up- DES Pune, Rs. 21,000 and books.
• Winner- WBNUJS, Kolkata,Rs. 36,000 and books.

The event thus came to a close with the powerful address by the NMCC Chairperson, Mr. Treyamb Pathak, who poured out his gratitude to the judges, dignitaries, the participants and all those who put their back into organizing the event.