1st All India Moot Court Competition by Maharaja Surajmal Institute, New Delhi: Register by October 15!

Maharaja Surajmal Institute invites law students to its 1st All India Moot Court Competition 2026. Register by 15 October.

About Maharaja Surajmal Institute

Maharaja Surajmal Institute, New Delhi, was established in 1999 and is affiliated with Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. The institute is accredited with a NAAC A grade and approved by the Bar Council of India. Its Department of Law offers B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) and B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) programmes.

Aequitas, the department’s student-led Moot Court Society, conducts moot court competitions, training sessions and workshops focused on advocacy, legal research, drafting and oral argumentation.

About the Competition

The Department of Law and Aequitas at Maharaja Surajmal Institute are organising the 1st All India Maharaja Surajmal Moot Court Competition 2026. The competition includes written memorials, a researcher’s test and oral rounds addressing contemporary criminal-law issues. SCC Online is the knowledge partner, and SCC Times is the media partner.

Mode and Venue

The competition will be conducted in hybrid mode. The researcher’s test, preliminary rounds and quarter-finals will take place online from 2 to 4 November 2026. The semi-finals and final will be held offline at Maharaja Surajmal Institute, Janakpuri, New Delhi, on 13 and 14 November 2026.

Eligibility Criteria

• Students pursuing three-year or five-year LL.B. programmes at institutions recognised by the Bar Council of India may participate.
• Each team must consist of three members: two speakers and one researcher. The researcher’s presence is mandatory throughout the competition.
• A maximum of three teams may participate from each institution.
• Additional team members are not permitted. Substitutions after the registration deadline require exceptional circumstances and prior approval from the organising committee.

Moot Proposition

The moot proposition concerns criminal-law issues under laws corresponding to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. The issues include whether circumstantial evidence establishes guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the reversal of a trial court’s acquittal, and the constitutional validity of trial in absentia under Section 356 of the BNSS for a proclaimed offender.

Registration Fee

The registration fee is ₹2,000 per team and is non-refundable. Registrations are accepted on a first-come-first-served basis, subject to eligibility and availability of slots. Registration is complete only after submission of the form and payment of the prescribed fee.

Memorial Submission Guidelines

• Memorials must be submitted in both PDF and Word format by 25 October 2026 at 11:59 PM IST.
• Email submissions to mcs.msilaw@msijanakpuri.com with the subject “Submission of Memorial”.
• Use English, Times New Roman, 12-point main text and 10-point footnotes, 1.5 main-text spacing, single-spaced footnotes and one-inch margins. Follow Indian Law Institute citation style.
• The substantive memorial sections must not exceed 35 pages, excluding the cover, contents, abbreviations and index of authorities.
• Memorials must identify teams through their team codes and contain no institutional or participant names. Plagiarism and AI-generated content must not exceed the rulebook’s 10% limit.
• Teams advancing to offline rounds must bring three hard-bound memorial copies for each side.

Awards and Benefits

• Winner: ₹21,000 plus three SCC Online subscriptions, valued at ₹33,500 each.
• Runner-up: ₹11,000.
• Best Speaker: ₹5,000.
• Best Researcher: ₹5,000.
• Best Memorial: ₹5,000.

All participants will receive one month of SCC Online Web Edition access, valued at ₹3,100 per participant. A one-hour online SCC training workshop will take place on 2 November; attendance is mandatory for every team member.

Important Dates

• Registration deadline: 15 October 2026.
• Clarification requests: 19 October 2026, 11:59 PM IST.
• Release of clarifications: 20 October 2026.
• Memorial submission: 25 October 2026, 11:59 PM IST.
• Researcher’s test and SCC workshop: 2 November 2026, online.
• Inauguration and preliminary rounds: 3 November 2026, online.
• Quarter-finals: 4 November 2026, online.
• Semi-finals: 13 November 2026, offline.
• Final: 14 November 2026, offline.

Contact

For registration, payment, participation or moot proposition queries, email mcs.msilaw@msijanakpuri.com.

• Convenor Mr. Atharv: +91 88265 06977.
• Convenor Ms. Sehajdeep Kaur: +91 98111 96688.
• Co-convenor Ms. Avni Sharma: +91 99102 06722.
• Co-convenor Mr. Akshat Parashar: +91 83683 77707.
• Co-convenor Mr. Sherwyn Joy Santhosh: +91 96547 71729.

Application Procedure

Interested teams must complete the official registration form and pay the ₹2,000 team fee by 15 October 2026. Proof of payment must be emailed to mcs.msilaw@msijanakpuri.com. The brochure contains the payment details and the institutional NOC template. Teams should read the complete rulebook and moot proposition before registering.