SC lets elected body take charge of kabaddi federation as ad-hoc measure
The federation has been run by justice (retd) SP Garg of the Delhi high court, the court-appointed administrator, since August 2018
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday entrusted the running of the country’s amateur kabaddi federation to an elected governing body, with the court clarifying that its order was not an endorsement of the elected body but an “ad-hoc” arrangement to ensure the federation’s affiliation gets restored and women players can participate in an international event later this month.
The federation has been run by justice (retd) SP Garg of the Delhi high court, the court-appointed administrator, since August 2018.
The court passed Thursday’s order after solicitor general Tushar Mehta appearing for Centre informed the bench about a letter received from the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) that promised steps to restore the affiliation of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) and allow participation of Indian players at the Iran championship if an elected body takes over the federation from the administrator.
A bench of justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh agreed. “Owing to the urgency regarding participation of women players in the kabaddi championship scheduled from February 20-25 in Iran, we request justice (retd) SP Garg, appointed administrator of AKFI, to hand over the charge of the federation to the governing body, said to have been elected on December 24, 2023...Let the needful be done before February 11.”
The bench underlined that this did not mean the court had seen merit in the arguments presented by the federation.
“It is clarified that the entrustment of charge to the elected body does not mean that this court has recognised the elected body or the issues pointed in our February 4 order won’t require to be taken to a logical conclusion,” the bench said, adding that this was an ad-hoc arrangement for the time being “so that the players are not put to any disadvantage.”
The bench’s order on Thursday came just two days after the court asked the Centre to seek assistance of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to enquire into allegations of former AKFI office bearers who allegedly acted with vested interests to wrest control from the administrator who had brought in transparency in the functioning of the federation, riddled with allegations of misappropriation and nepotism.
At the same time, the court had also asked the Centre to take steps to ensure IKF ends the de-affiliation of AKFI and permits players to participate in the Women’s Kabaddi Championship to be held in Iran from February 20 to 25.
The court was hearing a petition filed by two players – Priyanka and Pooja, seeking permission to participate in the international event.
At the February 4 hearing, the court expressed apprehensions about the newly elected body of AKFI after applications filed by former kabaddi players alleged that the former AKFI president, who held sway over the functioning of the federation for close to 30 years, was operating through the newly elected members.
The bench had asked the Centre to find out “whether the electoral roll of the Kabaddi federation is valid and transparent, and the state units are represented by genuinely elected/nominated persons, who can be permitted to participate in the election of the governing body of AKFI.
In addition, the court held, “The Director, CBI would suggest an investigation mechanism for effective domestic and international probe, with the assistance of international investigating agencies such as Interpol, into the affairs of the sports federation.
For now, the court directed the sports ministry and the new governing body of AKFI to take steps to ensure the Indian team’s participation at the Iran games and said, “On entrustment of charge to the elected body, the IKF shall abide by the assurance/undertaking given on February 6.”
The two women players represented by senior advocate K Parmeshwar submitted that since AKFI has lost its affiliation, the players need to be selected, for which the conditioning and selection camp were to be held.
The administrator, represented by senior advocate Nandita Rao, complained that the former judge was being subjected to unwanted criticism in the media for his unwillingness to hand over charge to the new elected body.
“It goes without saying that justice Garg has done a commendable job in restoring transparency in the functioning of the federation and in bringing achievements (and medals) for the sports federation. The court also sought a status report from the new governing body on the participation of India at the international event, further directing a lawyer to represent them on March 4, when the matter will be further heard.
