Delhi High Court Turned Down Demand Of Sports Ministry

Delhi High Court has turned down the demand of the Sports Ministry For 54 National Sports Organizations Decision To Increase Recognition.

The Delhi High Court has turned down the demand of the Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for amendment in the order not to take any decision regarding the sports organizations without informing the court.

Dismissing the Central Government’s plea, a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Justice Najmi Waziri said that there was no mistake in the court order dated 7 February 2020.

The bench said that the petition filed by the central government is an appeal and not a petition for amendment. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) KM Nataraj, appearing for the ministry during the hearing, said that the February 7 order was allowed without hearing the ministry’s side.

He also said that he does not need to get permission from the court before deciding to give recognition to sports organizations. The ASG also contended that the ministry could file an appeal as well, but had filed an application for amendment in view of the court’s honor.

To this, the bench said that on the basis of this application, the ministry was seeking a review of the order of February 7, which cannot be allowed. The bench said that we do not see any mistake in the order of February 7. This application was filed by the Ministry on the main petition filed by advocate Rahul Mehra in the year 2010.

Rahul Mehra had asked the Center and IOA to direct the responsibility of sports organizations. During the hearing, Rahul Mehra demanded from the bench to ask the Center to file an affidavit that all the 57 sports organizations would comply with the National Sports Rules. The ASG sought time to file an answer. The bench listed the hearing for 21 August.

The High Court had on February 7 made a clear order that the court will take a final decision on the recognition. However, even after this, the Ministry had ordered a status quo in the past on the decision to recognize 57 sports organizations.