Delhi HC Rejects Plea Seeking To Stop Prasar Bharati From Referring To BCCI Team As ‘Team India’

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking to restrain Prasar Bharati, the government’s statutory broadcaster that operates Doordarshan and All India Radio, from portraying the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as the official Indian National Cricket Team.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela termed the plea a “sheer wastage of the court’s time” while rejecting it.

The petition, filed by advocate Reepak Kansal, argued that the BCCI is a private society registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975, and not a statutory body or a “State” under Article 12 of the Constitution, as held by the Supreme Court in Zee Telefilms Ltd. v. Union of India (2005) 4 SCC 154.

Kansal relied on responses from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports under the Right to Information Act to state that the BCCI is neither recognised as a National Sports Federation nor does it receive any financial support from the government. The plea said the cricket board is also not a “public authority” under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005.

Despite this, it alleged, Prasar Bharati’s platforms continue to refer to the BCCI squad as Team India or the Indian National Team and display the national flag during broadcasts of BCCI tournaments. This, the petitioner contended, falsely confers national status on a private body and misleads the public by lending commercial legitimacy to a private association.

The plea further claimed that such usage could amount to violations of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and the Flag Code of India, 2002, which regulate the use of national symbols and identifiers. It argued that the practice undermines the sanctity of national symbols and allows a private entity to profit in the name of the country.

"This writ petition is being filed to ensure that national names, symbols and the Indian National Flag are not misused or associated with private commercial entities like the BCCI without proper statutory authority or recognition. The purpose of this petition is to safeguard public trust and prevent the citizens of India from being misled into believing that the BCCI officially represents the country as the "Indian National Cricket Team," in the absence of any ~ governmental recognition or notification," the plea stated

While dismissing the case, the bench told the petitioner, “Are you aware of how the entire ecosystem in sports functions? According to you, if government officials in the Department of Sports select the team, then only that team will be representing India? This is sheer wastage of the court’s time.”

Case Title: REEPAK KANSAL v. Union Of India & Ors

Hearing Date: 8 October 2025

Bench: Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela