New Delhi, June 3 (agency)
The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Center not to provide any funds or assistance to the National Sports Federations (NSFs) that do not comply with the law relating to the administration of sports in the country. A bench of Justices Najmi Waziri and Vikas Mahajan said that any institution that does not follow the Sports Code will not get any fund. This is the main point of our decision. The law is being ignored. Hearing a plea by senior advocate Rahul Mehra to ensure compliance of the Sports Code by the NSFs, the court observed that it was not being done in the spirit of sports. Not following the rules is against the spirit of the game. There are many flaws in its compliance. The court said that the compliance should be completed within a month and during this time assistance to the players would be ensured through the Sports Authority of India. He said that the NSFs who are not complying with this should be suspended. The court was informed by the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Sports that concerted efforts are being made to ensure compliance by the end of the month. He informed that 15 NSFs are following the Sports Code, while 6 were exempted. He told that 5 NSFs need to amend their constitution, while 17 NSFs need to make major changes.
The petitioner questioned the Centre’s reply that there are “super luminary persons (very influential)” in the management of at least 24 NSFs, which is contrary to the Code. In addition, most NSFs do not meet the mandatory 25 percent representation of players on the managing committee. The court said it was their endeavor to ensure that the NSFs follow the legal framework and “don’t give them a chance to say that the players would be harmed”.
According to the court order, “Unless it is clear which of the NSFs are fully compliant, it is prudent not to give any further money or assistance to any NSF till the next date.” “Hopefully, the entire exercise of ensuring compliance will be completed within a month,” he said. However, the assistance provided to the players through the Sports Authority of India will be ensured and possibly enhanced. The next hearing of the case will take place in July.
