Sports ministry moves Delhi HC seeking consent to provisionally grant annual recognition to NSFs
Jun 30, 2020
New Delhi [India], June 30 : The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports moved an application in Delhi High Court on Tuesday seeking consent for provisionally granting annual recognition to the National Sports Federations (NSFs).
The application seeking consent for the approval till September 30, submitted before the High Court that due to COVID-19 lockdown the documents are yet to be scrutinized and the recognition be granted provisionally.
Delhi High Court had last week asked the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to maintain status quo with respect to the decision to provisionally renew the annual recognition of 54 National Sports Federations (NSF) till further orders.
The ministry, in its application today, clarified that only those NSFs, which were recognised last year, will be recognised and added that the ones that have been suspended will continue to remain so. The High Court is likely to hear the matter on July 2.
The High Court had earlier said that the ministry had tried to overreach the order of the court while proceeding to take the decision to provisionally renew the annual recognition without first seeking the consent of the court.
On February 7, the court had directed the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) and Sports Ministry to inform the court in advance while seeking to take any decision in connection with the NSFs.
"It transpires that in the teeth of the order dated February 7, the sports ministry has on its own proceeded to provisionally renew the annual recognition in respect of 54 federations for the year 2020, till September 30," the Court noted.
"The respondent No.1/MYAS shall maintain status quo ante in respect of the said decision as well, till further orders," the High Court said.
However, the court had said that it is refraining from imposing any costs on the respondent MYSA for the present after the Ministry sought to withdraw the decision taken.
"The respondent No.1/MYSA shall issue a fresh notice within two days intimating all the 54 NSFs concerned that its order giving provisional renewal till 30.09.2020, stands recalled. As and when a fresh application is moved by the respondent No.1/MYSA, the notice shall be placed on record," the court had said.
The direction had come on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Rahul Mehra seeking a probe into the functioning of various sports bodies.
