Two Pak moot court teams denied visa

Two teams of law students from Pakistan, scheduled to participate in an international moot court competition being held at the Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, Delhi University, were forced to withdraw. Sources said they were unable to get visa clearance.

The teams of law students from Karachi-based Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology and the Pakistan College of Law, Lahore, had qualified in the first round of the K K Luthra Memorial Moot Court competition.

The two teams, which had qualified the "memorial" — written submission rounds — were scheduled to participate in the arguments round to be held at the Faculty of Law on Friday and Saturday.

Professor J L Kaul, the convenor of the Moot Court Society, declined to comment on the withdrawal of the two teams from Pakistan.

"People-to-people contact benefits the fraternity. However, the current situation is such that things are difficult. Of course, contact between members of the legal fraternity is always welcome," he said.

Teams from the University of Northumbria in the UK, George Washington University, US, Sri Lanka Law College, Colombo, and Kathmandu School of Law from Nepal are participating in this year's edition.

Last year, a team from Pakistan Law College, Lahore, had reached the semi-finals of the competition.

In her inaugural lecture on Friday, Supreme Court Judge Ranjana Prakash Desai spoke about the need for dedication and perseverance for success in the legal field.

"When I joined, there were only three or four women at the Bar. Now, almost 40 per cent of lawyers are women. I want to tell all the ladies not to get discouraged at the adversities you face," she said.

Delhi University Pro-Vice Chancellor Vivek Suneja said, "In the last few weeks of this year, this country have been convulsed by violence. The legal system is responding with stricter laws, but law alone cannot stop this rot," Suneja said.

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