Down, but not out: Law students sue moot court organisers over unfair interpretation of competition rules

In boxing parlance, a “Knock-out” refers to when a boxer lands the winning blow on his opponent, who is thereby deemed to have lost the bout, at the cost of his pride and usually a mild concussion. However, when it comes to the world of law school mooting, this term acquires a completely different connotation. And it is a dispute over the meaning of this very term that has led three law students in Bangalore to sue the principal of a law college. Nithyananda SG, Jayanth Devkumar and Raunaq KV of KLE Society’s Law College have filed a suit in the Bangalore City Civil Court against the Principal of BMS College of Law..It all started in the semi-final rounds of the B M Sreenivasaiah Memorial National Moot Court Competition, organized by BMS Law College in March this year. At the end of the semi-final rounds, KLE Society’s moot team was left flummoxed, wondering how the sweetness of victory could turn into that despicable feeling of being cheated. Having beaten their opponents convincingly in the semi-final round, the team were in for a rude shock. They were told that the losing semi-finalist of the other round would go through to the final rounds, on the basis of cumulative marking. In the opinion of the BMS Principal, the term “knock-out” meant that the organizers have the power to eliminate a team on the basis of cumulative marking..In an e-mail sent to Bar & Bench, Nithyananda says,.“This decision was completely against the rules of the competition. Rule VII C of the rules for the competition provided by BMS Law College clearly states that on the basis of a knock-out round, two teams shall be selected and advance to the finals. When we approached the Principal with our protest, he first refused to hear us, and when others interjected, he asked us to write a letter to the Grievance Committee. Later, we found that he was the sole member of the Grievance Committee.”.The one-man Grievance Committee dismissed the students’ pleas and proceeded to give his interpretation of the meaning of the phrase “knock-out”. “It was disheartening to notice that even before our complaint was heard, the organizers had begun the final round of the competition”, says a disappointed Nithyananda..The law students felt that they were left with no option but to file a suit seeking a declaration that the competition was not held in accordance with their prescribed rules. They have also sought Rs. 25,000 as compensation for expenses incurred and mental agony, on grounds of arbitrariness on the part of the organizers. The students also say that they have the full support of their Principal, who has even asked to be impleaded in the suit. The court has issued notice, with BMS expected to file a written statement soon. The next date of hearing is 10th November..The interpretation of the Principal is the logical equivalent of a referee punching the winner of a bout, who has to pretend to fall down and lie motionless, all because he had not performed very well in a previous match. As much as the students might have benefited from the experience of arguing a case in an actual court, they would have preferred not to have had months of their hard work undermined by an arbitrary act unbecoming of a legal institution.