New Delhi, Jan 7 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday set aside the Sports Code exemptions granted to Equestrian Federation of India by the Sports Ministry, and appointed a fact-finding committee to look into the affairs of the National Sports Federation (NSF), with elections to be held in four months.
The EFI had approached the ministry in October 2021, seeking relaxation of the provision in the Sports Code that requires NSFs to have at least two-thirds of the total states in the country as affiliated units.
EFI had argued that due to the peculiar nature of the sport, it was not possible for all states to have facilities and infrastructure to run the sport.
Agreeing to the EFI request, the ministry on November 9, 2021 had relaxed this provisions and allowed the NSF to grant membership with voting rights to individual clubs and institutions.
The exemption was granted till the time EFI does not have affiliated units in at least 50 per cent of the states.
The Rajasthan Equestrian Association, though, had challenged the exemptions.
The EFI has 202 clubs and 16 institutions but they have ceased to be the voting members of the Federation. It is a development that will have a huge impact on the next elections as it leaves now only 12 state associations with the voting rights.
Out of those 12, many are non-compliant with the Sports Code, creating a challenging situation for the Federation.
The High Court also formed a one-member fact finding committee under justice Nazmi Vaziri (Retd.) to study why the exemptions were granted to the EFI and submit a report in three months.
"It is the fifth time that the Court has ruled in our favour. On April 11, 2023, the Court upheld our view that EFI was in violation of the Sports Code with an electoral college skewed by clubs against the State Association.
"On September 15, 2023 as well as on May 21 and 29 this year, the Court has ruled against the EFI arguments," Raghuvendra Singh Dundlod, Rajasthan Equestrian Association President, said.
EFI General Secretary Jaiveer Singh said he won't comment till they have clarity on the judgement.
"We have not received detailed order as yet. Let me go through the order only then I will be able to comment on our future course of action," Jaiveer told PTI.