When I was approached by the Moot Court Association to pen a message for the 10th edition of the Nani Palkhivala Moot Court Competition, I must confess I was at once both delighted and shocked. Delighted because of how successful something we started during my tenure as General Secretary of the Moot Court Association has been, and shocked because it was a not-so-subtle reminder of my ever advancing age. There were plenty of naysayers and doubters as we set out on this challenging and pioneering enterprise 10 years ago. However, with the help of the ITAT Bar Association, the AIFTP and, in particular, Mr. K. Sivaram’s ceaseless efforts, we were able to establish a competition that provides students with a unique opportunity to hone their tax-law skills. My best wishes and hearty congratulations on this wonderful landmark!
Shreyas Shridhar, General Secretary – 2004
In my year we interacted with Mr. B. A. Palkhivala, brother of Late Mr. Nani Palkhivala who very graciously permitted us to go through his personal photographs of Mr. Nani Palkhivala and publish some of them in our souvenir.
Also, for the first time we started giving each competing team their score sheet immediately after their round was complete, to ensure complete transparency and help the team before they progressed into the next round.
Persis Sidhva, General Secretary – 2008
Dignitaries on the dais – Seen from left to right Mr. R. B. Malik, Principal, Government Law College, Mumbai, Dr. K. Shivaram, Chairman, Palkhivala Foundation & Research Committee, Mr. Arun Sathe, President, ITAT Bar Association, Hon’ble Mr. H. L. Karwa, President, ITAT, Hon’ble Mr. D. Manmohan, Vice President (MZ), ITAT, Mr. S. K. Poddar, National President, AIFTP, Prof. Sanjay Kadam, Chairman, Moot Court Association, GLC and Mr. Raghav Dev Garg, General Secretary, Moot Court Association, GLC.
Hon’ble Mr. D. Karunakara Rao, Member, ITAT, Hon’ble Mr. H. L. Karwa, President, ITAT & Hon’ble Mr. Sanjay Garg, Member, ITAT.
Hon’ble Mr. P. M. Jagtap, Member, ITAT, Hon’ble Mr. D. Manmohan, Vice President (MZ), ITAT & Hon’ble Mr. Amit Shukla, Member, ITAT.
There is no greater joy in the organization of a moot court competition than seeing it unfold in the real world tax tribunals before member judges of the ITAT themselves. In 2009, we were faced with several impediments in putting together this moot which caused us to shift the dates of the moot to the month of December that year. But the challenge bought out the best not only in our core committee but in the entire association which was able to pull off a memorable competition and pay a fitting tribute to the great Mr. Nani Palkhivala. Undoubtedly, the never say die attitude of the association and each members dedication to our goal is my biggest take away from ITAT 2009.
Pranay Aggarwal & Shanelle Irani
General Secretary & Asst. General Secretary – 2009
With the growing popularity of the moot and the support of the ITAT Bar, the competition witnessed participation of 26 teams from across the country, an all-time-high for the competition. In order to ensure that deserving teams qualify for the finals, we introduced a quarter-final round for the first time (to be judged by senior tax practitioners) and revamped the scoring system. The finals were decorated with the opulence of the Y. B. Chavan Auditorium and the brilliance of Justice B. N. Srikrishna presiding over the Bench.
Raunak Shah and Rubin Vakil
General Secretary & Asst. General Secretary – 2010
Being the 8th edition of the Competition and the 150th year of the Bombay High Court, the Competition was at its grandest and I was truly fortunate to have been General Secretary that year. The participants even got the opportunity to interact with Mr. Nishith Desai himself. The highlight however was the final round between NLSIU, Bangalore and RMLNLU, Lucknow who faced a stellar bench of Justice Mohit Shah, Chief Justice, Bombay High Court, Justice D. Y. Chandrachud and Justice R. M. Savant. In all, memories of those 3 days will remain with me through my life!
Komal Modi
General Secretary-2011
Our experience of organizing the Nani Palkhivala Moot in the year 2012 was extremely satisfying and rewarding specially in terms of the increased participation in the years’ research paper competition. Highest number of research paper entries were recorded in the year 2012 undoubtedly translating into an unbelievable level of interest in the field of “General Anti Avoidance Rules – An Indian And International Perspective” from across the country. All in all, it has been an honour for to be at the threshold of organising a prestigious moot and we hope to imbibe some of the qualities of Mr. Palkhivala
Ayushi Anandpara & Madhavi Doshi
General Secretary & Asst. General Secretary – 2012