Students argue on indirect discrimination at moot court
The Statesman | 3 August 2025
It was not only an intriguing fight for the right stand, but was also a show of team work to get the argument right before the judges. Students from 34 schools across India fought for and against the arguments to win a ‘case’.
Around 138 students and 46 educators were part of the 4th edition of the National Inter-School Moot Court Competition at The Future Foundation School, Kolkata in collaboration with BML Munjal University (BMU).
The moot problem involved a challenge to the constitutionality of a public recruitment notification excluding candidates holding qualifications from open schools, thereby requiring students to think critically about contemporary legal and constitutional issues.
After a series of intense rounds, two semi-finals and a final, Delhi Public School, Ruby Park, were declared the champions. The BSS School, Kolkata claimed second place, impressing judges with their clarity and composure.
Judged by a panel of faculty members from the School of Law at BML Munjal University, the competition followed a rigorous evaluation framework focused on articulation, research, and interpretation of law.
Shardool Kulkarni, assistant professor, department of law, BML Munjal University, who served as one of the judges said the students were given a hypothetical situation. “The recruitment policy looks discriminatory, which might have a disproportionate impact on marginalised communities. It was heartening to see that all the students were able to pick up the thread and be able to connect the dots. They did excellent research and homework and then linked it to a very recent development,” said Shardool.
Issues like mining vs rights of tribal communities, environmental degradation, AI and ethics of choosing AI were given to students earlier while this time the students deliberated on indirect discrimination and the right to protest.
While the students in the earlier rounds argued for the petitioner, they semi-final they argued for the respondent.
The Future Foundation School principal Ranjan Mitter said the genesis of this moot court is the introduction of the subject legal studies in the curriculum . “This competition signals the real-life experience of a lawyer. Students learn how to arrive at a point. They can also see if they have the aptitude, talent and inclination to pursue it as a career. What I have seen is that passion does not come from a book, it comes from witnessing something and asking oneself if it is for me,” said Mr Mitter.
Pritam Baruah, dean, school of law, BML Munjal University said this was an immersive experience for the students. The skills built in you are research, writing, analytical thinking, communication and anticipation of what the other side is thinking. You think on your feel. These are skills any citizen would need. Every issue, debate has two sides and you should be able to appreciate and argue from both sides. That was our feedback to students.
“This experience also informs students about what higher education in law entails. Otherwise, for many students it is a shocker when they go to a law school. This bridged the gap between school education and higher education,” said Mr Baruah.
The feedback of the students to the faculty had been that they never expected to face such questions. It was scary and also rewarding at the same time. Experience of mooting has enriched them, the students said.
They have told us that they thought the best speakers would win but the ones with best research have won.