IDIA Bihar Chapter: 3rd National PIL Drafting And Pleading Competition, 2024 [28th - 29th Sept]

IDIA Bihar chapter, a vital arm of the Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to legal education (IDIA) movement, runs on the backbone of highly Passionate student volunteers from Chanakya National Law University, Patna. Operating in the state of Bihar, the chapter is committed to identifying underprivileged and marginalized students with a passion for law and empowering them through intensive training for law entrance exams. The dedicated volunteers train selected students regressively for top law entrance exams such as CLAT and AILET. Upon admission to leading law schools IDIA offers scholarships, sponsorships and mentorships to support their journey towards becoming influential lawyers and community advocates.

In order to function and fulfill the goals of IDIA, IDIA – Bihar Chapter is organizing its 3^rd National PIL Drafting and Pleading Competition, 2024 in collaboration with Talwar Thakore & Associates (TT&A).

The national PIL drafting and pleading competition is IDIA Bihar chapter's annual flagship fundraiser. Their fundraising competition aims to provide aspiring legal minds with hands- on experience in understanding the practical dynamics of public interest litigation(PIL) while simultaneously making meaningful contribution to the education of underprivileged students. This unique opportunity not only fosters a deeper understanding of the legal profession's social impact, but also empowers students to actively engage in addressing social inequalities through legal advocacy. By participating, individuals not only enrich their legal knowledge but also take tangible steps towards a more equitable and inclusive society making a lasting difference in the lives of those who need it the most.

Timeline

Themes

The participating teams are required to examine any real life issue in relation to the

given themes:

• Environmental Justice;
• Access to Justice for Marginalized Communities;
• Gender Justice;
• Indigenous Rights and Tribal Welfare;
• Right to Education.

These themes are only suggestive, the participants are allowed to select a topic other than the above-mentioned suggestive themes. In that case, the topic must relate to a contemporary issue.

Eligibility

• The competition shall be open for the students currently pursuing their Bachelor's degree in law i.e. 3 Year LL.B. course or 5-year LL.B. course from any Recognised University / College in India.
• There is no restriction on the number of entries from any College or university.
• Cross teams would be allowed to participate.
• “Individual participation” as well as “Participation in a Team of Two” is allowed.

Submission Guidelines

• Each participating team must submit one PIL draft.
• If a participating team wishes to include any annexures to support their arguments in the draft (such as reports, commentaries, news clippings, pictures, etc.), they should compile all relevant annexures into a compendium and submit it along with the memorial.
• All the PIL drafts must be sent to the email address: idiabiharevents@gmail.com latest by September 10, 2024, 11:59 PM, with the subject of the email as "IDIA PIL Draft, Team Code _____"
• Submissions made after the deadline will not be considered for evaluation and will result in the disqualification of the participating team, as well as forfeiture of the contribution made.
• Any submission with any name or reference of the participants will be disqualified.
• Submitting plagiarised content will lead to disqualification; participants must ensure their work is original.
• If the drafts of two or more participants or teams are found to be substantially similar, both teams will be disqualified.

Competition Format

• Out of all the submissions received, the top sixteen (16) teams with the highest PIL draft score will be selected for the oral rounds.
• The Oral Rounds will be conducted in three stages:
• The Qualifying Oral Round
• The Semi-Final Oral Round
• The Final Oral Round
• Out of the sixteen (16) teams making submissions in the Qualifying Oral Round, the top four (4) with the highest speaking score shall proceed to the Semi-Final Oral Round.
• The Semi-Final Oral Round will be a knock-out round and the two winning teams in each room shall proceed to the Final Oral Round.
• In the Qualifying Oral Round, each team will be given 15 minutes, whereas in the Semi-Final and Final Oral Round, each team will have 30 minutes to make oral submissions on the basis of the PIL draft submitted.
• In the case of a two-member team, the members shall divide the time allocated between themselves as per their own convenience. Both members are mandatorily required to make oral submissions.
• After the oral submissions, the participants will be questioned by the judge(s).
• During the Oral Rounds, teams are supposed to strictly adhere to the submission made in their PIL.
• Oral rounds will be conducted online through Google Meet.
• The courtroom attire for the participants shall be formal (black & white).
• The language of the courtroom shall be in English.
• Date of Oral Rounds: 28th & 29th September.

Perks and Prizes

• The team with the highest speaking score in the Final Oral Round will be declared the Winner and shall be eligible for an internship opportunity with the firm collaborators.
• The Runner-up team in the Final Oral Round shall be eligible for an internship opportunity with the firm collaborators.
• Certificate of Excellence for the teams proceeding for the Semi-Final and Final Oral Rounds.
• Certificate of Excellence for the 'Best Speaker' with the highest speaking Score in the Qualifying Oral Round.
• Certificate of Merit for all the sixteen (16) teams qualifying for the Oral Rounds.
• Certificate of Participation for all the participating teams.

Formatting Guidelines

• All drafts must be provided in two formats: Microsoft Word Document (.doc/.docx) and PDF Format (.pdf), which means that each participant should submit two files – one in MS Word format and one in PDF format.
• The body of the submissions must be in the font “Times New Roman” with font size 12, having line spacing of 1.5 and justified. (The Font size for the Headings can be formatted as per the choice of the participants).
• The Footnotes shall be in Times New Roman, size 10, single line spacing, justified.
• The participants must follow a uniform citation throughout their submission.

Content of the PIL

• The PIL is to be filed before the Supreme Court of India.
• The PIL Memorial must contain all of, and only, the following components:
• Cover Page which should contain:

(a) The Unique team code in the upper right-hand corner.

(b) The name of the case;

• Table of Contents
• Table of Abbreviations
• Index of Authorities
• Statement of Jurisdiction
• Facts of the Case o Issue(s) Raised
• Summary of Arguments/Pleadings
• Arguments Advanced/Pleadings
• Prayer
• Table of annexure
• There is no restriction on the number of pages.

Penalties & Deductions

• Breach of anonymity – Disqualification from the competition.
• Late submission – 2 marks each day.
• Missing or Incorrect insertion of section or provision – 2 marks each.
• Missing or unnecessary information on the cover page – 1 mark each.
• Incorrect font style in the main body of the memorandum – 1 mark each.
• Incorrect line spacing in the main body of the memorandum – 1 mark each.
• Incorrect font size in the main body of the memorandum – 1 mark each

Registration Process

• The participating teams should complete the registration form available at this link: https://forms.gle/EyzLa3rGFJW7mFvn6
• Minimum Contribution
• Single Participation: Rs. 600/-
• Participation in a team of two: Rs. 900/-
• Participants are expected to follow the provided payment instructions:
• Participants should attach a screenshot of the payment within the registration form.
• Upon successful registration, each participant or team will receive a unique team code for future reference.
• The deadline for registration is August 22, 2024.

Payment Details

All the required transactions i.e., the minimum contribution/ registration fees shall be paid online in the account mentioned below:

Account holder name - Bhola Shankar

Account Number - 3352001500014325

IFSC- PUNB0335200

Bank name- Punjab National Bank

Branch- Punjab National Bank, Udwant Nagar

UPI Details: 7667521825@ptaxis

For more details on the competition kindly refer to the brochure 

Contact 

Bhola Shankar (Team Leader- Bihar Chapter)- +91 76675 21825

Yashila Bansal (Deputy Leader- Bihar Chapter)- +91 63504 39929

Email- idiabiharevents@gmail.com