NEW DELHI: Even as the Supreme Court has listed the case related to the All India Football Federation’s long-delayed elections for hearing on Wednesday, May 18, a potential body blow to defendant AIFF president Praful Patel and the executive committee he leads has already been delivered.
Former India captain Bhaskar Ganguly, a member of the two-person Committee of Administrators that the Supreme Court had appointed in 2017, has written to the Apex Court, urging it to approve the constitution formulated by the CoA and order the AIFF to conduct elections.
Last Thursday (May 12), the Apex Court had agreed to hear a plea of Delhi Football Club, alleging the illegal continuation of Patel and the AIFF executive committee.
Patel had completed his three terms and 12 years as AIFF president in December 2020, the maximum permitted to a national sports federation chief under the Sports Code.
The AIFF, however, did not hold the elections, citing a pending petition in the Supreme Court regarding its constitution.
After that, the Apex court has listed the matter for hearing on May 18. Earlier, the Union Sports Ministry had informed the Supreme Court that the Patel has no mandate to run the sports body, as he has served his three terms as president and the national body should hold elections without further delay. The Sports Ministry had filed an affidavit before the Apex Court on April 8 about the Special Leave Petition (SLP) in which lawyer Rahul Mehra is one of the respondents along with the Union of India.
Meanwhile, in his letter written to Chief Justice NV Ramana, Ganguly, a decorated India international, informed that he and co-administrator SY Quraishi (former Chief Election Commissioner) had submitted the draft constitution of the AIFF in January 2020.
In its 2017 order, the SC had appointed the CoA to formulate the constitution of the AIFF in consonance with the National Sports Code.
“…the same has been submitted by us in January 2020, but till date there is not much of movement in the case, resulting (to) AIFF unable to take any decision for election and their present president complete his tenure as per the terms,” Ganguly wrote in the letter, made availeble to multiple Indian media outlets.
“…my prayer to the Hon’ble Court to take priority of this case and approve the new constitution and advise to implement to AIFF immediately and conduct the election as per the ‘new constitution’ so that development of football in India can continue.”
Ganguly said he was unable to hire any advocate as he was “working on this project without any financial support from anywhere (sports ministry/ AIFF).”
