New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has appointed retired judge Justice Najmi Waziri as the Chairperson of an ad-hoc Administrative Committee (AAC) to supervise the administration of the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI).
Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju issued the directive, stressing the need for proper governance within the federation.
The AAC will also include former Chief Election Commissioner of India Dr. S.Y. Quraishi as an observer and Advocate Rohini Musa as a member.
The committee is tasked with taking over the day-to-day operations and administration of the EFI. Current office bearers of the EFI will cease their functions but are required to assist the AAC as needed.
The court’s decision came in response to an application by the Rajasthan Equestrian Association. The association challenged the EFI’s decision to extend the tenure of its office bearers beyond September last year without a proper mandate from the Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM).
Allegations included conducting elections contrary to the National Sports Development Code, 2011, and improperly extending voting rights to clubs and institutions.
Justice Ganju noted that the EFI was functioning without a legitimate official body, citing the lack of a unanimous decision to extend the office bearers’ tenure during the EGM.
She stressed the importance of adhering to the Sports Code to avoid suspension of the federation’s recognition, which would be detrimental to the sport and its athletes.
“This Court is also cognisant of the fact that, in terms of Annexure III of the Sports Code, if there are serious irregularities in the functioning of a National Sports Federation, there is a danger that their recognition may get suspended – a situation which is required to be avoided and which is not in the interest of either the sport or the sportsperson,” stated the court.
The court deemed the appointment of the administrative committee as an urgent measure to protect equestrian sports from further deterioration and to safeguard the interests of the sport and its participants.
Previously, in April 2023, another bench of the High Court had mandated elections for various posts within the EFI and appointed former judge Ajit Bharihoke as the returning officer to manage the electoral process.
The High Court had stressed the necessity of a democratically elected body to ensure proper governance of the federation.
(IANS)
