By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 4 Oct: Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University, organised the opening ceremony, today, of its Fourth National Moot Court Competition. Former Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra was present as the Chief Guest on the occasion. In a packed Seminar Hall, Justice Misra inaugurated the competition by lighting the traditional lamps. Principal Dr Rajesh Bahuguna stated that the competition had so far achieved considerable fame which propels the prestigious law universities of the country to ensure their participation. He revealed that 32 teams of prestigious universities were participating in the event and the organisers had invited 59 adjudicators, including two former judges of the Supreme Court and a former judge of the Delhi High Court. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Chancellor Jitender Joshi observed that the strong inclination of law students towards the moot court competitions indicated that law graduates today consider court practice as their first career option. Vice Chancellor Prof NK Joshi welcomed the participants and explained the vision of the university. In her address, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra declared, “There has been a paradigm shift in legal education in the context of career and opportunities.” She advised the students to focus on content apart from language and communication while approaching a case. She also maintained that moot court competitions were extremely valuable as they taught the students about the judicial process, court proceedings, presentation of cases, etc. “Moot courts are learning platforms for students,” she remarked. She advised students to cultivate the habit of independent thinking and taking decisions as clarity of thought and sound reasoning were essential pre-requisites. She expressed the hope that the Directive Principles of state policy would become justiciable in the future as it would ensure executive accountability. Manoj Thapliyal of Price & Buckland also addressed the while President of Moot Court Society of Law College Dehradun, Anna Anu Priya proposed the vote of thanks. Those present on the occasion included Director of Uttaranchal University Abhishek Joshi, representatives of Bank of Baroda, Akshay Rastogi, Trineshwar, SR Shah, AS Chauhan, Dr Poonam Rawat, Rajeev Sharma, Rajeev Kukreti, Manoj Thapliyal, Pawan Dobhal, Dr Anil Dixit, Dr LS Rawat, Ramakant Tripathi, Anjum Parvez, Vaibhav Uniyal, Dr Lakshmi Priya, Dr Vijay Srivastava, Ujjwal Kumar and hundreds of students.
