A Delhi University student speaks during the debate competition at CNLU in Patna on Sunday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

The team from National Law Institute University, Bhopal, outshone rival participants to emerge the winners in the fourth national parliamentary debate organised by Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) on Sunday.

Over the past three days, 18 teams from different colleges and law institutes in the country displayed their oratory skills and their knowledge about Parliament.

Four teams — one from National Law Institute University, Bhopal, two from Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Law School, Bhubneshwar, and one representing Delhi University — had made it to the semi-final. The topic in the semi-final was “This house believes that European Union will have a common foreign policy”.

The teams from National Law Institute of University, Bhopal, and Delhi University scored maximum points and made it to the final, where they spoke on “This house believes that scientific research that attribute negative traits particular ethnic groups should not be published”.

CNLU has been organising this debate for the past three years in the memory of Shilesh Chandra Mishra, former advocate at Patna High Court.

Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, Ram Manohar Lohiya Law University, Lucknow, and University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehra Dun, emerged as the winners in 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively.

CNLU is the only university in Bihar which has organised a national parliamentary debate. The debate is conducted on the lines of Asian Parliamentary form of debating, a method practised in all National Law Universities across India.

Over the past three days, the speakers took up various subjects, including politics, legal affairs, science and technology, and other national and international issues.

“The parliamentary debate and moot court competitions are among the most popular events in law schools. The basic objective of such debates is to test the debating skills of the participants along with their knowledge in current affairs,” Samridhi Mishra, a CNLU student and an organiser of the debate, said.

Meanwhile, Forza, the law fest of Chanakya National Law University started today with several sports events. This is the first time the law university is organising the event. Twelve teams are participating in the event and The Telegraph is its media partner.