When court is in session...

Mooting is an activity taken up by many law students to improve communication skills and get accustomed to a real court atmosphere. While there is no limit to the number of members, there is an internal selection round on the basis of which one is judged. One of the moot teams from Christ, which won the fourth All-India Law Fest 2010 organised by Govind Ramnath Kare College of Law in Goa, says entering a moot court has a “thrill of its own”.

Even before a team enters the court, preparations have to be done. “We generally meet up when a competition is announced, during which we do a lot of research for the case.
Discussions and team work allow us to analyse both sides of the case and prepare for what the judges may ask,” says Dharmendra Chatur, who has been mooting for two years. The team also gets together to prepare a written submission of  the case.

“The entire process is tedious but we  feel we are fighting a real case and helping an individual get justice,” says Prerna Singh, who has also been mooting for the last two years. Though they have to be prepared to fight for both sides of the case, there are times when they have found themselves fighting for something they are personally against. “Once we had come across a case on homosexuality, which I support, but at the competition, I had to fight against it. That was a real challenge,” says Prerna while Dharamendra adds, “As lawyers-in-the-making, we are taught to keep personal opinions to ourselves.”

With each case, they say, not only does their knowledge in the field improve but also their confidence. Says Shravan Lokre, who joined the team only recently, “Facing the challenges and judges helps us understand our surroundings better and our confidence improves.”

These lawyers-in-the-making say mooting is the best thing that has happened to them.
“And the most satisfying part is when you are able to convince a judge and get a smile out of him,” says Dharamendra.