The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider listing the pleas relating to the All India Football Federation and finalisation of its constitution, which was framed by former apex court judge Justice L Nageswara Rao.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae, that the pleas needed to be heard.
“It was said on March 19 that the pleas will be listed on April 5, that is today,” PTI quoted Sankaranarayanan as having said.
The bench assured that the case will be fixed for hearing soon.
The top court seized two separate clutches of petitions relating to the Indian Olympic Association and the AIFF, the newswire reported.
It had said the report, submitted by Justice Rao, shall be circulated by Gopal Sankarnarayanan to all the parties desirous of securing the soft copies.
It had directed that the objections to the AIFF’s draft constitution be filed.
On May 2, 2023, the top court urged Justice Rao to also prepare a comprehensive report on finalising the AIFF constitution after taking note of the objections to a draft document by various stakeholders including FIFA.
It had said the voluminous objections to the draft constitution by various stakeholders could be taken care of by Justice Rao, who had earlier finalised the constitution of the Indian Olympic Association on the orders of the top court.
The bench was hearing a plea related to the finalisation of the constitution of the AIFF after taking note of “clause-by-clause” objections of various stakeholders of football in the country.
Meanwhile, Khel Now reports that the postponement of the hearing is a setback for Indian football’s progress towards a more transparent and inclusive governance structure.
In the meantime, questions remain about the specific details of the AIFF’s proposed new constitution and the extent to which it addresses the concerns raised.
