The Supreme Court on Thursday (February 6, 2025) requested former Delhi High Court judge, Justice S.P. Garg, to hand over the charge of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) to a governing body elected in December 2023.
The court directed AKFI, which is recognised by the Union Ministry of Sports, to facilitate the selection and conditioning of the women’s team set to participate in the Senior Asian Kabaddi Championship to be hosted by Iran from February 20-25.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh commended Justice Garg, who was appointed the administrator of the AKFI by an order of the Delhi High Court, for ushering in transparency and reforms in the sport’s administration.
Court sought compliance report by AKFI
The apex court ordered the handing over of the reins and compliance with its order by February 11, 2025. It sought a compliance report to be filed by the AKFI in the next court hearing on March 3, when a counsel of the governing body must be present in court.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the Centre while senior advocates Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Menka Guruswamy and advocate Sravan Kumar represented veteran players.
During the hearing, senior advocate K. Parameshwar, appearing for two women players Priyanka and Pooja, submitted there was an immediate need to facilitate a ‘conditioning camp’. The senior advocate informed the court that even the selection of the team had been in limbo.
“The AKFI must take immediate steps for the selection of the team,” the court ordered in response.
The court added that with the entrustment of the AKFI administration with its governing body, the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) must abide by its positive assurance in a February 6 letter to allow the Indian team to participate in the upcoming championships.
Mr. Sankaranarayanan urged the court to bring the Constitution of the AKFI in consonance with the National Sports Code of India 2011, and to conduct fresh elections.
The Bench clarified that handing over the charge of the AKFI to the governing body did not, by default, mean that the court had already recognised it. The arrangement was described by Justice Kant as “ad hoc”.
In the previous hearing on February 4, the court had directed Mr. Mehta to find out whether the electoral roll of the AKFI was valid and transparent, and if the State units were represented by genuinely elected or nominated persons.
The court had in the earlier hearing also made clear its intention to examine allegations of opacity, monopoly and corruption against individuals, including the family of a former Rajasthan Minister, Janardhan Singh Gehlot, who had run the AKFI for decades, culminating in the loss of its IKF affiliation. It had asked Mr. Mehta to explore diplomatic channels for the resolution of the conflict regarding the recognition of sports associations, most urgently the AKFI. The Bench had directed the law officer to consult the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation on launching an “effective” domestic and international probe, with the assistance of agencies, including the Interpol, into the affairs of the AKFI.
Published – February 06, 2025 04:12 pm IST
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