Delhi HC stays AKFI elections on petition alleging sports code violation

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday stayed the elections for office bearers of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) scheduled to be held on September 1 on a petition alleging they violated the sports code.

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva posted the matter for the next hearing to September 19.

The petition, filed by A C Thangavel, a former Kabaddi player from Tamil Nadu, said that the polls violated the sports code as they were being held on the basis of electoral rolls which comprised members who were not qualified to be part of the electoral college.

"The Federation by holding elections on the basis an electoral college comprising various persons who are holding office in member state federations contrary to the mandate of the sports code beyond the maximum prescribed tenure and age, is permitting and perpetuating the violation of the sports code", the petition submitted.

The plea challenged various AKFI orders including the August 7 decision, notifying the elections, the August 16 order publishing the electoral roll and the August 17 order which dismissed the objections raised by the petitioner without assigning any reason.

It said that these orders were issued contrary to the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011.

The petition contended that the elections were being held contrary to multiple directions of the Federation itself, in which affiliated member state federations were directed to amend their constitution to bring it them consonance with the sports code.

"A division bench of the Delhi High Court in a judgment in August last year had expressed grave concern at the undemocratic and illegal manner in which the Federation was controlled by members of one particular family for over three decades without any elections and by subversions of the provisions of the law and in utter disregard to the sport of Kabaddi, the sportspersons and aspirants," the plea said.

Advocates Rahul Mehra and R Arunadhri Iyer represented the petitioner.