CLARIFICATIONS
I. PROPOSITION
1. On page 44 of WS2, it is stated that Ashwini was watching Maya's Instagram live
on 5th October, where Maya announced she would be holding a press conference
at the Press Club the "following" day. However, Maya was found dead on the
morning of 5th October. Could you clarify this apparent discrepancy?
This is an error in the proposition. The date mentioned should be 4th October instead of
5th October. The proposition will be updated accordingly.
2. Are Anirudh Raj and Adithya Raj identical twins?
To be inferred from the proposition.
3. The Final Report prepared in December 2024 mentions that the accused were
under judicial custody. When were they shifted from police custody to judicial
custody? The proposition does not provide an account of the accused being
presented before the magistrate within 24 hours, except for Adithya's confession,
which was also recorded beyond 24 hours of arrest. Could you clarify this
timeline?
The first part of the question does not require clarification. As for the second part, the
timeline is to be inferred by the teams from the proposition, and no further clarification
will be provided.
4. Were any bloodstains found on the trophy by forensic examination?
Please refer to the forensic examination report. No further clarification will be provided.
5. Who is Siddharth Varma, and what role does he play in the case?
No further clarification required.
6. Are the unknown fingerprints found on various pieces of evidence identical or
distinct?
Due to the incomplete nature of the fingerprints, it could not be conclusively determined
whether they are identical or distinct. Teams may refer to the forensic report for further
arguments.
7. Who are Meera Vishwanath and Nikitha Sreekumar? If they are witnesses, why
are their statements not included?
Statements of Meera Vishwanath and Nikitha Sreekumar can be relied upon based on the
reports they have submitted. Their chief examination and cross-examination can be
conducted using these respective reports.
8. Are the accused people’s ages the same? Or is it a mistake?
No further clarifications required.
9. Does the case proposition indicate whether there was any form of surveillance,
such as CCTV cameras, installed within or around the Vrindavan Gardens
complex or Maya John’s residence? If so, were any recordings obtained during
the investigation? Additionally, is there any confirmation of a breach in security,
as indicated by unauthorized access to the gated community or the residence on
the night of the incident?
No further clarifications required.
10. Were both the accused produced before the magistrate within 24 hours?
No further clarifications required.
11. Do the dents on the trophy, which was used as the murder weapon, and the
wounds on Maya's head match, as per any available data?
No further clarifications required.
12. Can we get a clarity on the location of the lapel pin and table?
Please refer to the scene mahazar for details. No further clarification will be provided.
13. In the Inquest report Point 16 injuries and marks mentioned as Bruises on the
arms and legs but in Postmortem didn't mention. Is this given intentionally?
Teams are expected to analyze and interpret such inconsistencies as part of their
arguments, and no further clarification will be provided.
14. As per Records Murder takes place on 4th Oct(Friday)and arrest on 5th
Oct(Saturday) but in Arrest memo accused was produced before Magistrate
within 24 hrs but no records of Medical examination of the accused, is this given
intentionally?
The procedure for medical examination has been duly complied with in accordance with
the BNSS. The report of the medical examination is deemed to have been submitted.
15. No records of Videography of the crime scene, is this given intentionally?
No further clarification required.
16. In the Postmortem Report time of death was 14 to 18 hrs prior, 4 hrs gap, is this
given deliberately?
Teams are encouraged to analyze and argue on such details as part of their case strategies.
No further clarification will be provided.
17. Distance between Chandini line and Vrindhavan gardens?
No further clarifications required.
18. Which gate is considered the back exit of the gated community?
The gate adjacent to MC Road, located between house numbers 4 and 5, is the main gate.
All other gates are to be considered as back gates.
19. How many security guards were designated at the villa?
The villa has only one security guard.
20. Which gate was Mr. Jayakrishnan designated?
No further clarification required.
21. What was the distance between the designated gate of Mr. Jayakrishnan and
Maya's residence?
No further clarification required.
22. What were the dimensions of the trophy?
Teams are encouraged to analyze and argue on such details as part of their case strategies.
No further clarification will be provided.
23. In the forensic analysis report, was alcohol found in the blood of Ms. Maya John
or in any other place, apart from the stomach?
Teams are encouraged to analyze and argue on such details as part of their case strategies.
No further clarification will be provided.
24. Was videography of the crime scene and recovery scene conducted?
The procedures are deemed to have been complied with.
25. Whether Adithya was sent to police custody after producing him before the court
(first appearance required within 24 hrs)?
No.
26. Whether Adithya and Aniruddh meet in the jail cell during police custody (If the
answer to the above is yes)?
No further clarifications required.
27. Was there any fingerprint examination on the Apple Watch (as the same is
missing)?
Teams are encouraged to analyze and argue on such details as part of their case strategies.
No further clarification will be provided.
28. How deep was the DNA analysis? Was it a complete DNA analysis?
No further clarification required.
29. Whether Adithya Raj was taken into police custody after confession?
No.
30. What is the pattern of the stairs in Maya John’s house, and what does the term
‘staircase landing’ mean?
This will be updated in the proposition.
31. How far was the body from the staircase (in meters or centimetres)?
The body was located 1 meter from the base of the staircase.
32. Were there any blood stains on the 1st floor?
No
33. Whether the staircase has blood stains of Ms. Maya John or any other person?
Teams are encouraged to analyze and argue on such details as part of their case strategies.
No further clarification will be provided.
34. Whether Ms. Maya John’s rectum was also empty?
No further clarification required.
35. Is the layout of the Vrindavan Gardens the same as the scene plan?
Yes
36. What is the date of framing of charges?
Please refer to pages 38 and 39 of the propositions for details.
II. ARGUMENT NOTE
37. What does an argument note look like? Could you elaborate on its expected
format?
Please refer to the rulebook (pages 7 and 8) for details on the structure. The Argument
Note focuses on two primary issues: framing of charges and discharge of the accused. It
is a skeletal format of a memorandum, a highly concise version of a memorial without
any table of contents, abbreviations, or authorities. The Argument Note contains only
the arguments, presented succinctly. Its purpose is to provide a streamlined overview of
the key arguments to be advanced during the proceedings.
38. Should the argument note include discussions about bail for both the prosecution
and the defence?
Arguments concerning bail are not required to be included in the Argument Note.
Submissions on bail may instead be advanced during the oral rounds.
39. Will the argument note be exchanged with the opposing team during the
competition?
Yes.
40. Should the argument note focus exclusively on procedural issues, or is it
permissible to include both procedural errors and arguments on the merits of the
case?
The Argument Note can address both procedural issues and the merits of the case. The
prosecution must demonstrate prima facie evidence to justify proceeding to trial, while
the defence can highlight inconsistencies in the evidence and argue for discharge.
However, as this is a pre-trial stage, the merits of the evidence will be assessed only from
a prima facie perspective.
41. In the argument notes, is it mandatory to strictly adhere to the preliminary trial
procedure?
Yes, the Argument Notes must strictly focus on the framing of charges and the discharge
of the accused, in accordance with the preliminary trial procedure.
42. For the virtual round, could you provide the format for the arguments we need to
submit in the Word file? Also, will these marks be considered for prizes?
Please refer to the answer provided for Question 37 regarding the format. Marks for the
submitted arguments will not be considered for prizes and are applicable only for the
Qualifier Rounds.
III. MISCELLANEOUS
43. Could you clarify the staggered release of annexures?
Additional annexures will be released as evidence prior to the qualifier rounds. These
annexures are not required to be referenced in the argument notes but may be introduced
and relied upon during the oral rounds.
44. As the prosecution, do we have the option of examining all six witnesses?
Similarly, can the defence examine all their witnesses, or is there a cap on the
number of witnesses to be examined?
The number of witnesses to be examined is entirely at the discretion of the teams. The
Organizing Committee does not impose any minimum or maximum limit on the number
of witnesses that either the prosecution or the defence can examine.
45. Why does the prosecution have more witnesses (6) than the defence (4)?
No further clarification required.
46. Will the number of witnesses for the prosecution (6) and the defence (4) remain
the same across all three rounds of the competition?
Yes
47. Since this is a trial, are participants allowed to raise objections during arguments
and witness examination?
Yes
48. Can one speaker handle both the chief examination and the cross-examination, or
must these tasks be split between two speakers?
The decision on whether one speaker will conduct both the chief examination and the
cross-examination or divide these roles between two speakers is left to the discretion of
the teams. The Organizing Committee will not interfere in this matter. For further
details, please refer to the rule book.
49. The rulebook mentions a "uniform method of citation." Does this mean
participants can choose between citation styles like Bluebook or OSCOLA?
Yes
50. Will the organizers conduct a sample memo-drafting session or provide guidance
on it?
No
51. Are participants allowed to present their own exhibits apart from those already
listed in the annexures?
Participants may produce annexures related to procedural compliance. However, no
additional exhibits forming part of the evidence can be presented, other than those
already provided in the proposition.
52. On page 12 of the rulebook, under Rule 8.1.1, paragraph (b) states that the rounds
will be for 90 minutes. However, the table detailing the time division adds up to
120 minutes. Could you clarify this inconsistency?
This is an error in the rulebook. The duration for the Semi-Final and Final Rounds is 120
minutes. The rulebook will be updated accordingly.
53. Are participants allowed to challenge forensic evidence during the trial?
Yes
54. Can participants draw inferences from the pictures provided as evidence, or are
they simply representative in nature?
The pictures are representative in nature.
55. Since the rule book has not mentioned the time split between both the speakers
of a team, can it be assumed that 1 speaker talks for 10 mins and the other speaker
talks during rebuttals ? If not this can you please explain the time splits including
maximum time that can be taken per speaker.
The allocation of time between speakers is left to the discretion of the teams. The
Organizing Committee will not interfere in this matter.
56. Is it a mistake that there is no self attestation in defence witness while pw has
authorisation statement towards end ?
No, the Defence witness statements are aide-memoire and were not recorded by the
police under Section 180 BNSS.
57. Will the two accused, Adithya Raj and Anirudh Raj, be represented by the same
defence counsel, or will each have their own separate legal representation during
the trial?
Both accused, Adithya Raj and Anirudh Raj, will be represented by the same defence
counsel during the trial.
58. Could you please elaborate on the procedure of the Qualifiers?
Please refer to the rulebook for details. The procedure for the Qualifiers is similar to the
proceedings outlined under Sections 249 to 251 of the BNSS.
59. Have charges already been framed prior to the qualifier rounds?
No
60. Will any witnesses be examined in the Qualifiers round?
No
61. Will memo scores be considered for the actual rounds?
Memorial scores will be added to the oral scores obtained by the participants in only the
preliminary rounds. Top eight teams from the Preliminary Rounds will advance to the
Quarter final rounds. In case of a tie, the team with the higher memorial marks will
qualify.
62. Can Addition of charges be allowed?
Yes
63. Can we ask for bail?
Yes
64. If the Accused were called by the defence, should the Prosecution side be allowed
to cross the accused?
Please refer to the relevant provisions of Indian Procedural Law. No further
clarifications will be provided.
65. Is there any Specific format for Compendium?
Kindly refer to the Rulebook.
66. Can both prosecution and defence witnesses be called by the prosecution?
The prosecution may only call Prosecution Witnesses for examination-in-chief.
67. Will Criminal Rules of Practice, Kerala or any other procedural rule of Kerala state
in relation to the investigation be applicable in the context
No
68. Do we need to frame charges, or will they be provided by the Organizing
Committee?
In the Qualifier Round, the prosecution is responsible for arguing the framing of
charges, with the discretion to decide what charges to frame. During the advanced
rounds at the trial stage, the charges will be provided by the Organizing Committee.
However, the prosecution retains the discretion to request modifications to the charges
in line with applicable laws.
69. In the virtual round, do we have to make arguments related to everything or just
discharge and about its time criteria?
Arguments in the virtual round must be limited to proceedings related to the framing of
charges and the discharge of the accused, as outlined in Sections 249 to 251 of the BNSS.
For time criteria, please refer to the rulebook.
70. An order of the Additional Sessions Judge has already been issued framing
charges against the accused. Should this be disregarded for the preliminary
rounds?
For the Qualifier Rounds, the order shall be considered as not counted.
71. Whether Defence Witnesses can be used during the framing of charges stage (as
they are provided as an aide memoire?
No
72. Can the defence argue for bail for the accused?
Yes, the defence is expected to argue for bail.
73. How should the "Arguments Advanced" section be structured? Should it include
subheadings such as: i) Whether preliminary charges exist? ii) Whether the
accused can be discharged?
While the use of subheadings is preferred, the structuring, including the number and
phrasing of subheadings, is left to the discretion of the teams.
74. When preparing the "Facts" section for each side, should the prosecution's
version and the defence’s version of the story be separately presented, or should
the same facts as provided in the proposition be used for both sides?
The prosecution or defence may present their version of the story as facts, provided that
it is logically inferred or interpreted from the proposition.