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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday held that it is high time that structural reforms are implemented to eliminate mismanagement in sports bodies and democratize these institutions.

A division bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Najmi Waziri observed that the Central and State Governments should seriously consider enacting comprehensive legislation on sports body recognition and management that incorporates best practices and the IOC Charter, without which no facility (monetary or otherwise) should be granted by any State or Union of India.

The court was hearing a sports-related petition filed by Advocate and sports enthusiast Rahul Mehra, wherein he sought strict adherence to the Sports Code by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the National Sports Federations (NSFs) for the betterment and advancement of sports in the country.

The division bench while allowing the petition held that:

• General Body as also the Executive Committee (EC) must have a minimum 25% representation with voting rights of eminent players with outstanding merit.
• Age and Tenure restrictions shall apply to all officials and not only to the President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
• Maximum tenure by any official can be a max of 3 terms (i.e. 12 years) with a cooling-off period.
• The size of the Executive Committee (EC) of IOA shall be 15 (7+8) and no more
• No person with criminal antecedents will be eligible to be a part of the sports administration
• All Commissions shall be independent
• Compliance with the government sports code is mandatory and non-negotiable. All sports bodies which are in non-compliance or largesse from the public exchequer.
• Governments, both Central and State, to consider introducing sports legislation.

Court also appointed a Committee of Administrators (CoA) comprising of three members namely, Retired Supreme Court Judge Justice Anil Dave, Dr. S.Y. Quraishi, IAS, former Chief Election Commissioner, and Vikas Swarup, IFS, Former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs.

Moreover, Court appointed three consultant sportspersons namely, Abhinav Bindra (from Uttarakhand) Sport-Shooter, Olympic Gold Medalist, Anju Bobby George (from Kerala), Long Jump Olympian, Bombayla Devi Laishram (from Manipur), Archer Olympian, who shall assist in preparation and adoption of the IOA Constitution as per Sports Code and hold elections within 16 weeks from the date the CoA members give their assent.

Justice Manmohan noted that the current writ petition emphasizes that the electoral colleges of most sports bodies are controlled by a few individuals, making it difficult for genuine athletes to be elected and play an important role in the management and the majority of sports organizations are divided down the middle. Even the Electoral College/list of authorized representatives to attend and vote at the IOA's General Body meeting is heavily contested, he stated.

He further observed that seeing the present constitution of IOA wherein the President of IOA can be for life, reminds him of the mausoleum of the first Emperor of China Qin Shi Huang, where terracotta soldiers were buried to protect the Emperor in his afterlife.

He opined that the Sports Code must apply to every constituent of every NSF, including IOA as well as its constituents.

Furthermore, Justice Manmohan warned, “Those who mismanage sports bodies and have turned them into personal fiefdoms dare the government/authorities and courts that if they try to democratize the sports association and remove the mismanagement, the country will be de-recognized and Indian athletes will be unable to compete under the country's flag shortly”.

Justice Manmohan clarified that the present judgment intends to improve the “eco-system” and bring about structural reforms, rather than target a specific individual or sports federation.

Case Title: Rahul Mehra v. Union of India and Ors.