14th Annual Surana and Surana International Technology Law Moot Court Competition, 2015

Symbiosis Law School, Pune, a constituent of Symbiosis International University, in association with Surana and Surana International Attorneys, Chennai, hosted the 14th edition of Surana and Surana International Technology Law Moot Court Competition, 2015 from the 21st to 23rd of August. The event witnessed an impressive participation of 34 teams including NALSAR, Hyderabad, WBNUJS, Kolkata, GNLU, Gandhinagar, RMLNLU, Lucknow, HNLU, Raipur, NLU, Odisha, NLU, Assam, RGNLU, Patiala and international participants from Northern University, Bangladesh and University of Chittagong, Bangladesh.

The event was inaugurated on 21st of August at the hands of Chief Guest, Hon’ble Justice P. Venkatarama Reddi, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India and Former Chairman, Law Commission of India. He said that the legal education does not end with law colleges, but is instead, a continuing process and that everyone in the field of law are law students forever.

The valedictory and prize distribution ceremony took place on 23rd of August at 03:00 pm in the Moot Court Hall, at Symbiosis Law School, Pune.

Final rounds of competition was adjudged  by the panel comprising of  the Chief Guest, Hon’ble Justice, Mr. Uday Umesh Lalit, Judge, Supreme Court of India, Adv. Krishna S. Dixit, Assistant Solicitor General of India and Dr. Luther M. Rangreji, Associate Professor, South Asian University.

Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar, Principal Director, Symbiosis, Dr. Rajani Gupte, Vice Chancellor, Symbiosis International University, Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Fulbright Scholar, Director, Symbiosis Law School, Pune, Dean, Faculty of Law, Symbiosis International University, Dr. S. Ravichandran, Advocate and Head, Educational Initiatives, Surana and Surana Attorneys, Chennai and Dr. Bindu Ronald, Deputy Director, Symbiosis Law School, Pune also graced the occasion.

The event started with the auspicious lighting of lamp by the dignitaries on the dais followed by welcome address by Dr. Shashikala Gurpur.  Dr. Gurpur apprised the audience that this moot is first in every respect right from the moot problem based on nanotechnology and various advanced fields of science, invigorating the minds of the participants and challenging them to learn and grow. She added that the participants are very fortunate as they are getting an opportunity to plead before sitting Judge of the Supreme Court, Hon’ble Justice, Mr. Uday Umesh Lalit.  She concluded by wishing everyone all the best and hoping that Symbiosis has many more occasions to serve the cause of legal education.

Dr. Rajani Gupte encouraged the participants by saying that in these competitions, participation is more important than winning.

Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar called Law as a fast growing profession.  The expansion of Symbiosis Law Schools in the cities of Noida and recently, to Hyderabad signifies the fact of its well acceptance. She congratulated the participants and the Law school for the successful moot competition and wished for bigger success in the years to come.

Dr. Luther M. Rangreji, the SLS, Pune alumnus, spoke about the growth of Symbiosis from its humble beginnings to today when it has become a truly global university in letter and spirit. The new campus has opened up vistas for further enhancement of legal education of students, he said. At the end he congratulated participants for their endeavour.  

Adv. Krishna S. Dixit gave students the tips for pleading their cases. He explained in-depth the ways to present a case before the honourable court in most effective & impressive manner.

The Chief Guest, Hon’ble Justice Mr. Uday Umesh Lalit applauded the participants and apprised them of having the potential and capital bestowed on them to become a fantastic lawyer ahead. He said, “We have been taught the legal language and interpreting provisions but there could be times where we are required to go beyond the text and understand, in interest of law and our client”. He enraptured the audience by elaborating on the responsibility and the ability that every counsel should have. He concluded his speech by congratulating both the finalists for being excellent contenders. He said choosing one of the two teams was a real difficult task for the judges.

The concluding remarks for the day were given by Dr. S. Ravichandran, who thanked each and every one party to this event for making it a success.

This was followed by the prize distribution ceremony wherein Rizvi Law College, Mumbai was declared the winner lifting the Rolling Trophy with a cash prize Rs 30,000/- and Symbiosis Law School, Noida, finished second, winning a cash prize of Rs.15000./- . Best Memorial Prize was bagged by GNLU with a cash prize of Rs.10,000/- and finishing second was RMLNLU with a cash prize of Rs.5,000/- . ­Ashutosh Upadhyaya, SLS Noida, was adjudged as the best student advocate winning Rs. 10,000/- and  Vedika Pareek, GNLU, was adjudged as the 2nd Best speaker winning Rs. 5,000/-. Mr. Arjun Iyer of Rizvi Law College, Mumbai, won the Best Speaker of Finals Award. Last but not the least the Spirit of Surana Award was won by School of Law, Christ University.

At the end Dr. Bindu Ronald delivered the vote of thanks.