Domestic violence: Students favour strict laws

BANGALORE: A three-day national-level moot court and the national-level cross examination competition 2012 conducted by CMR Law School came to an end recently with the competition receiving all round appreciation from the dignitaries for organising it in the most professional manner. More than 22 law colleges from across the country participated in the 3-day law fest, the theme of which was based on creating awareness and understanding of “The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.” The finals of the Moot Court Competition was conducted on Sunday at the CMR Law School campus and was judged by five sitting judges of the Karnataka High Court who heard the arguments put forth by the students and questioned them at length before giving their verdict. These included Justices Ajit J  Gunjal, Anand Byrareddy, Jawad Rahim, Aravind Kumar and K Govindarajulu. The chief guest for the valedictory function, Justice V S Malimath advised law students to consider expanding their skill sets and broaden their scope towards focusing on a career within the legal system. He told students that they might follow either a persuasive method or an aggressive method of advocacy. He spoke at length about the need for a balanced approach, stressing on the fact that laws are extremely important in regulating human affairs. The mock case was centered on eliciting the rights of women vis-a-vis bringing about awareness and understanding of The Protection of Women under Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Ajitha P, Nanditha Narayan and Neethu Sreedhar from National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi, won the first place with a cash amount of 25,000. The second place with cash prize of 10,000 was bagged by Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur students — Prakhar Pandey, Ritwik Saswal and Krishnendu Kanungo. The individual prizes for Best Memorial award went to National  University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi. This year, students from 22 universities and law colleges from all over India participated in the competition.