Delhi High Court
All India Carrom Federation vs Union Of India on 6 August, 2018
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Judgment reserved on: July 23, 2018
Judgment delivered on: August 06, 2018
+ W.P.(C) 3314/2016, CM Nos. 38513-38514/2017
ALL INDIA CARROM FEDERATION .... Petitioner
Through: Mr. V.D. Narayan, General
Secretary of the Petitioner-
Federation in person
versus
UNION OF INDIA ..... Respondent
Through: Mr.Bhagvan Swarup Shukla,
CGSC with Ms.Komaldeep,
Adv. for respondent No.1-
Union of India
Mr.Aseem Mehrotra, Adv. with
Mr.Devang Gautam, Adv. for
R2
+ W.P.(C) 5684/2016
VIJAY KUMAR ....... Petitioner
Through: Mr. Jal Sahai Endlaw, Adv. with
Mr.Devang Gautam, Adv.
versus
UNION OF INDIA & ORS. ..... Respondents
Through: Mr.Ajay Digpaul, CGSC with
Ms.Madhuri Dhingra, Adv. for
respondent-Union of India
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR JUSTICE V. KAMESWAR RAO
JUDGMENT
V. KAMESWAR RAO, J
1. As these two writ petitions relate to elections in the All
India Carrom Federation, (AICF) with the consent of the counsel
for the parties, have been heard and are being decided together
vide this common order.
W.P.(C) 3314/2016
2. The present petition has been filed with the following
prayers-
"It is therefore, most respectfully prayed that this
Hon'ble Court may graciously be pleased to:-
a) Issue writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate
Writ or Writs or direction or directions to quash and
set aside the Order No. F.No.21-6/2015-SP-I dated
04.02.2016 issued by the Under Secretary, Ministry of
Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, New
Delhi;
b) Declare that the election to various posts of
Working Committee of the petitioner federation held on
November 29, 2015 at Guwahati (Assam) for a term of
4 years was in conformity to election guidelines of the
Sports Code and is valid;
And and/or;
c) Pass such other order/orders as deemed fit and
proper by this Hon'ble Court in the facts and
circumstances of the case in favour of the petitioner."
3. It is the case of the petitioner Federation that petitioner is
a National Sports Federation registered as a Society under the
Society Registration Act, 1860 by the Registrar of Societies with
the main object of encouraging, promoting, developing and
stabilizing the game of Carrom. The petitioner is also recognized
by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India.
It is averred, the respondent No.1 introduced model election
guidelines to be followed by all recognized National Sports
Federations (NSFs) as a part of National Sports Development
Code of India (NSCI), 2011 (in short Sports Code) on January
31,2011. Soon after introduction of Sports Code, the petitioner
Federation brought amendments to it's Rules and Regulations to
the extent they govern/regulate the election of office bearers to
it's Working Committee consistent with the Model election
guidelines / Election Bye Laws prescribed in the Sports Code and
accordingly elections to various posts of the Working Committee
of the petitioner federation were held on July 22, 2012 at
Gurgaon, Haryana by the Returning Officer Mr. Om Prakash
Verma, Addl. District & Sessions Judge (Retd.). It is further the
case of the petitioner, upon perusal of report of the Returning
Officer, the respondent No.1 vide its letter dated October 12,
2012 addressed to the General Secretary of the petitioner
federation informed that it has noted the report of the election of
the office bearers namely Mr. Rakibul Hussain as President, Mr.
P.S. Bachher as General Secretary and Mr. P. Raveendran as
Treasurer for a period of four years term for the period 2012 to
2015. Rule 15 of the Rules and Regulations of the petitioner
federation framed in conformity with Sub-Clause (2) of Clause 3
Model Election Guidelines provided that the office bearers of the
society are elected once in every four years at the Annual General
Meeting (Meeting of the Council) from amongst the accredited
representatives of the associations.
4. It is the case of the petitioner Federation, on July 25,
2015, the then General Secretary with the concurrence of the
President of the petitioner federation gave notice to all the
affiliated Units & office bearers of the Federation calling upon to
hold Annual General Meeting (General Council) of the petitioner
federation on September 13, 2015 at Guwahati to consider,
amongst other things, to discuss and decide about the election of
the Federation for the next term. It is stated, in the Annual
General Meeting of the petitioner federation held on September
13, 2015 at Guwahati, members unanimously agreed to hold the
election of the petitioner federation before it's due date and
decided to hold election on November 29, 2015 at Guwahati for a
term of 4 years. In the said Annual Meeting of the General
Council of the petitioner federation held on September 13, 2015
at Guwahati, members present also shown their displeasure over
the acts of some of the office bearers and other members of
federation who circulated a letter that they have conducted a
requisitioned meeting of working committee on May 30, 2015 at
Gurgaon and suspended the then General Secretary, Mr. P.S.
Bachher and appointed Mr. S. Udaya Kumar as officiating
General Secretary. Further it was unanimously resolved in the
said meeting of the petitioner federation that actions by the office
bearers and other members in the name of requisitioned working
committee meeting as illegal/unconstitutional and congnizance if
any taken at any level should be null and void. It is further the
case of the petitioner that although the petitioner federation did
not attach any credence to the purported requisitioned meeting of
the working committee, even otherwise the purported
requisitioned working committee of the petitioner federation
convened by some on May 30, 2015 at Gurgaon for suspension
the then General Secretary Mr. P.S. Bachher and for appointment
of Mr. S. Udaya Kumar as officiating General Secretary was
nullified by the Annual General Meeting (General Council), in
terms of Rule 26 of the Rules and Regulations of the petitioner
Federation.
5. It is further the case of the petitioner, the Under Secretary
of the Respondent No. 1 vide letter dated October 06, 2015
sought comments from the President, All India Carrom
Federation to a Writ Petition being All India Carrom Federation
filed by Mr. S. Udaya Kumar relating to suspension of then
General Secretary Mr. P.S. Bachher. Vide letter dated October
14, 2015, Mr. Rakibul Hussain, President, of the petitioner
Federation in reply to the letter dated October 06, 2015 of the
respondent No. 1 intimated to the respondent No.1 that the writ
petition filed by Mr. S. Udaya Kumar has been rejected by this
Court. It was also informed that meeting convened by Mr. S.
Udaya Kumar was not only illegal but also was an act of anti
federation activity. It was also informed that during the Annual
General Meeting, about two third members of the petitioner
Federation condemned the action of Mr. S. Udaya Kumar. The
President of the petitioner federation has also informed the
respondent No. 1 that Mr. P.S. Bachher is the General Secretary
of AICF and still has the confidence of more than two third
members of the petitioner Federation. In terms of Clause 5 of
Model Election Guidelines of Sports Code, the then President of
the petitioner federation vide letter dated October 14, 2015
requested Justice Sunil Kumar Kar, (Retired), to act as Returning
Officer and to conduct the election as per Model Election
Guidelines and the same was accepted by the Returning Officer.
It was also informed to him that as soon as the names of Electoral
College are finalized or within 24 hours from the last date of
receipt of such nominations, the complete list of Electoral
College in form no. 1 would be submitted. It is stated, the then
General Secretary of the petitioner federation vide letter dated
October 19, 2015 addressed to the Under Secretary of the
respondent No.1 informed that the federation has unanimously
decided to hold the election in Special General Meeting on
November 29, 2015 at Guwahati for which the President of the
petitioner federation has nominated Justice Sunil Kumar Kar,
(Retired) as the Returning Officer. It was also informed that the
election programme will be notified by election officers as per
Model Election Guidelines, issued by the respondent.
6. It is the case of the petitioner Federation, on October 26,
2015, the Returning Officer circulated the notice of the Election
Programme to conduct the elections of the petitioner Federation
for a term of four years in the Special General Meeting to be held
at Guwahati on November 29, 2015 detailing therein the dates
and time for finalisation of Electoral College, circulation of list
of authorized representatives, submissions of Nomination,
publication of list of all nominations received, scrutiny of
nominations, publication of list of valid nomination, withdrawal
of candidates, publication of Final list of contesting candidates,
polling if required, counting of votes: and declaration of results.
The Under Secretary of the respondent No.1 vide letter dated
November 03, 2015 requested the Director General of Sports
Authority of India, New Delhi a copy of which was also endorsed
to the petitioner federation, to depute Mr. Deka, Deputy Director,
SAI Centre, Guwahati as Government Observer for attending the
election meeting of All India Carrom Federation scheduled on
November 29, 2015 at Guwahati to observe the elections on the
aforesaid date and submit report to the respondent No.1 Ministry.
Besides various affiliated Associations of the petitioner
federation, the Pondichery Carrom Association to which Mr. S.
Udaya Kumar in the capacity of General Secretary under joint
signature of himself and that of the President Mr. Rajakkannu had
on November 09, 2015 nominated himself and Mr.G.
Krishnamurthy, as two representatives to form the Electoral
College for election to Working Committee of the petitioner. The
General Secretary of the petitioner federation as required under
Rule 4(5) of model elections guidelines prepared the list of
Electoral College in Form 1 comprising of 60 Authorised
Representatives from 30 Member States / Union Territories and
the list so prepared by him was circulated to all Member States /
Union Territories through its website wwwoindiancarrom.com on
November 15, 2015, a copy of which was also provided the
Returning Officer. It is also its case, the Under Secretary of the
respondent No.1 vide its letter dated November 16, 2015
requested the Director General of Sports Authority of India, New
Delhi that since it has come to the notice of the respondent that
Mr. L. Tikan Singh is presently working as Deputy Director in
Sports Authority of India, Guwahati, he may be deputed instead
of Mr. Deka, Deputy Director, for attending the election meeting
of the petitioner federation to be held on November 29, 2015 at
10:00 AM at Hotel Grand Majesty, Hatogaon, Near Namghar,
Guwahati to observe the elections on the aforesaid date and time
and submit a confidential report in a sealed cover to the Joint
Secretary (Sports) of the Ministry without any copy to anyone
else. In terms of Clause 6 of model election guidelines
prescribing nomination of candidates, the Returning Officer
under his signature prepared the, list of nominated candidates in
Form 3 as per model election, guidelines and publish the same in
his office.
7. It is the case of the petitioner Federation, after
compliance of clause 7, 8, and 9 of model elections guidelines,
the poll in conformity with Clause 10 was taken for the Posts of
President(1), General Secretary (1), Treasurer (1), Executive Vice
President(1), Sr. Vice Presidents(4), Vice-President (4) Assistant
General Secretary (1), Joint Secretary (West)(1), Joint Secretary
(East) (1), Joint Secretary (North) (1), Joint Secretary (South)(1),
Working Committee Members (6) as scheduled at Guwahati on
November 29, 2015, whereas the Post of Joint Secretary (North
East) (1), Director Technical, Director Media and Dy. Secretary-
Marketing were elected unopposed. After counting of votes by
the Returning Officer in conformity with Clause 11 of the model
elections guidelines on November 29, 2015 itself, the Returning
Officer, Justice Sunil Kumar Kar, (Retd.) under his signature
declared the result of election of All India Carrom Federation for
office bearers and members of the Managing Committee in Form
15 prescribed in model election guidelines and endorsed a copy
of the same to the President of the petitioner Federation. As per
the election result declared by the Returning Officer, Mr. Rakibul
Hussain, Mr. Vivek Dheesh Narayan (for short "V.D. Narayan")
and Mr. Arun Ramakant Kedar were declared as President,
General Secretary and Treasurer of the petitioner federation
respectively. It is stated by the petitioner that Mr. Tikan Singh,
the Observer to the election of the petitioner Federation refused
to sign in Form 15 declaring the result by the Returning Officer,
on the plea that he has been asked by the respondent No.1 to
submit the confidential report to the respondent No.1 directly,
although as per model election guidelines the said Form is
required to be signed by the observer deputed by the respondent
No.1, despite having been provided the complete information by
the General Secretary of the Federation upon his asking for the
same on the day of election held on November 29, 2015.
8. It is the case of the petitioner, that Mr. P.S. Bachher, the
outgoing General Secretary and Mr. V.D. Narayan newly elected
General Secretary of the petitioner federation vide letter dated
December 07, 2015 addressed to the Under Secretary of the
respondent No.1 submitted a list of elected office bearers
detailing therein that Mr. Rakibul Hussain, Mr. V.D. Narayan &
Mr. Arun Ramakant Kedar are elected to the post of President,
General Secretary and Treasurer respectively. On December 09,
2015, the Outgoing General Secretary Mr. P.S. Bachher handed
over the charge of the post of General Secretary of All India
Carrom Federation to the newly elected General Secretary Mr.
V.D. Narayan at New Delhi and the same was witnessed by Mr.
Khurshid Asst. General Secretary of the petitioner Federation. It
is further stated by the petitioner Federation that after taking over
charge of the Post of General Secretary of the petitioner
federation Mr. V.D. Narayan, has solicited entries from various
Zonal Teams for 13th inter-zonal National Carrom Championship
from 15th to 17th March, 2016 at Mumbai, for 44th Junior National
& Inter-State Carrom Championship 2015-2016 from 27th to 30th
March, 2016 at Varanasi (U.P.) and invited Junior Team and one
All India Panel Umpire of State Associations for National
Carrom Championship, for All India North East Zone Carrom
Championship 2015-2016 from 23rd to 25th February, 2016, for
All India East Zone Carrom Championship 2015-2016 from 26th
to 28th February, 2016 at Lakhi Sarai (Bihar), for All India North
Zone Carrom Championship 2015-2016 from 23rd to 25th
February, 2016 at Chandigarh. It is stated, while the petitioner
Federation was busy organizing events for selection of India
Team for participation in World Carrom Championship, it was
shocked to receive letter dated February 04, 2016 from the Under
Secretary of the respondent No.1 whereby the result of the
elections to various posts of petitioner Federation held on
November 29, 2015 is held to be not valid due to alleged
violation of the election guidelines of the Sports Code, with a
direction to the petitioner Federation to hold the elections afresh
at a place other than Guwahati inter alia on the ground that at the
time of appointment of the Returning Officer i.e. on October 19,
2015, the Electoral College was not prepared by the President /
Secretary of the Federation as required under the provisions of
the election guidelines of Sports Code and consequently the
Returning Officer was not provided with copy of the Electoral
College thus necessitating the Returning Officer to prepare the
Electoral College. The General Secretary of the petitioner
federation vide his letter dated February 04, 2016 addressed to
the Joint Secretary of the respondent No.1 replied to the letter No.
F.No.21-6/2015-SP-I dated February 04, 2016 received from the
Under Secretary of the respondent No.1 by placing on record that
the election of the petitioner federation has been conducted as per
the model election guidelines prescribed in the Sports Code,
besides stating therein that the petitioner federation has issued
prospectus for conduct of five Zonal / National Level Carrom
Championships and state association have made necessary
arrangements for the same and such unilateral decision of the
respondent shall cause lots of inconvenience and irreparable loss
to the entire Carrom Fraternity with the request to the respondent
Ministry to look into the matter and do justice with the players
who are World Champions and Organizers of events.
9. It is further the case of the petitioner Federation, that on
the representation of the petitioner Federation, the Under
Secretary of the respondent No.1 vide his letter dated February
08, 2016 addressed to the President of the petitioner federation
has although clarified that the decision taken by the respondent
Ministry for conduct of election has no bearing on the conduct of
any Championship or event organized by recognized office
bearers of the petitioner federation i.e Mr. Rakibul Hussain,
President and Mr. P.S. Bachher, General Secretary, yet has
communicated it's decision with the approval of Hon'ble Minister
Of State (Independent Charge) not to accept the election
conducted at Guwahati as valid and accordingly the petitioner
federation has been advised to conduct the election afresh by the
previous body, whose tenure is up to July, 2010 at a place other
than Guwahati. The General Secretary of the petitioner
Federation vide its letter dated February 21, 2016 addressed to
the Joint Secretary of the respondent No.1 reiterated that after
handing over of the charge of the post of the General Secretary
by Mr. P.S. Bachher to the present General Secretary, the
prospectus of 5 Zonal / National Carrom Championship for the
year 2015-2016 were issued by the present General Secretary for
the following events namely: North Zone Carrom Championship
2015-16, North East Zone Carrom Championship 2015-16, East
Zone Carrom Championship 2015-16, Inter-Zonal Carrom
Championship 2015-16 are to be completed by March 31, 2016.
It was also informed that 7th World Carrom Championship to be
organized from 6th November, 2016 in which 16th Nations are
likely to take part therefore the Federation has to select India
Teams well in advance so that the team can be sent in most
befitting manner thus it was requested that the decision-dated
February 04, 2016 to be reconsidered. It is the case of the
petitioner that the letter dated February 04, 2016 is contrary to the
facts on record and also on a perverse interpretation of election
guidelines of Sports Code and as such violative of Article 14 of
the Constitution of India.
10. It may be necessary here to state, when the matter was
listed on April 22, 2016 for the first time, this Court passed a
detail order. Para 6 of the same reads as under:-
"6. The representative of the petitioner to meet Mr.
A.K. Patro, Under Secretary or the other Under
Secretary or official dealing with the matter on 27th
April, 2016 at 1500 hours along with all records and
the said official to look into the matter and make
further inquiries as to the claim of the petitioner and
repercussion if any of holding election before due or
any bar thereto and the report thereof be produced
before this Court on the next date of hearing. The said
official would also be free to contact the other
members / factions of the petitioner to verify whether
there is any challenge or dispute with respect to the
election of the present office bearers of the petitioner."
11. The respondent Union of India has filed an affidavit on
July 12, 2016. In the said affidavit, they have referred to the order
passed by this Court on April 22, 2016 and the fact that a hearing
was held on April 27, 2016 before the Director (Sports) when Mr.
V.D. Narayan, the representative of the petitioner Federation was
present. Thereafter, the hearing was adjourned to May 03, 2016
as it was felt that Mr. V.D. Narayan and Mr. S. Udaya Kumar, the
respondent No.2 herein should be present. It is the stand of the
respondent no. 1 that the Ministry does not interfere in the day to
day functioning of the National Sports Federation including the
AICF. The development and promotion of various discipline of
sports including national / zonal championship, selection of
players and teams to represent India in the tournaments, conduct
of their organization, election, affiliation / disaffiliation of State
union etc is the responsibility of the relevant National Sports
Federation concern, which are registered under the Societies /
Trust / Companies Act. It is also stated that the Government
observer had submitted his report wherein it is stated that the
elections were conducted through secret ballot and although the
election process was to start at 11 am, the Returning Officer
started the election procedure at 11.45 am. He further mentioned
that out of 60 Members only 33 Members collected the election
ballot and casted their vote. There are many State representatives,
who did not cast their vote like Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh,
Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal. Further, it is stated
that the Ministry has observed several anomalies in the elections.
The election was held at Guwahati on November 29, 2015 on the
basis of decision of Special General Body Meeting. However, as
per the model election guidelines, elections are required to be
held at the Annual General Council meeting from amongst
representatives of the States/ UTs / Boards / Institutions. Hence,
the election held at Guwahati was vitiated to that extent.
12. It is also stated that the participation of Orissa State is not
known from the records, though the State is a Member. It is also
stated that the records show that various important documents
relating to elections like notice of election, list of nominated
candidates, declaration of results etc show a mismatch of
signatures of the Returning Officer. Many of the important
documents, like declaration of results and counting of votes also
do not have the signatures of the Government observer. Thus, the
manipulation / forging of records and signatures cannot be ruled
out. It is stated that there were several other complaints alleging
irregularities committed in the election held at Guwahati. It was
further stated that respondent No.2 Mr. S. Udaya Kumar had
conducted election of AICF on May 15, 2016 at Hyderabad and
submitted his report in spite of the fact, they were well aware of
the hearing held with both the groups as per the direction of this
Court and the matter was sub judice. It is stated that Mr. S.
Udaya Kumar claims to have been appointed as Acting General
Secretary by the Working Committee, yet no authentic orders
have been produced. His taking over the charge, report bears
only his signature. No signatures of Mr. P.S. Bachher have been
observed in that report. The notice of Special General Body
Meeting issued by Mr. S. Udaya Kumar does not have the
approval of the President and thus the entire exercise of the
election carried out by Mr. S. Udaya Kumar on May 15, 2016 at
Hyderabad is of no significance. In substance, it is the stand of
the respondent no. 1 that the election at Guwahati violated the
guidelines of the Sports Code and the election process was not at
all fair and transparent and therefore, the respondent No.1 has
directed the petitioner Federation to hold the election in a fair and
transparent manner through the process in line with the
provisions of Sports Code.
13. The petitioner Federation has filed a rejoinder to the
affidavit filed by the respondent No.1. In its rejoinder to the
short affidavit filed by the respondent No.1 on May 18, 2016, it is
stated that the report submitted by Director (Sports) of the
respondent on May 13, 2016 has not been produced in this Court
on the plea that it is under examination of the respondent.
According to him, the report was to be produced before the Court
on May 18, 2016. It was not produced even on subsequent dates
of hearing on July 19, 2016 and August 16, 2016. It is stated that
the respondent in para 8 of their affidavit admits Returning
Officer has issued notice for conduct of election. However, the
respondent Ministry in the impugned letter dated February 04,
2016 has mentioned that the Returning Officer has issued notice
for the electoral college and treated it as violation of the election
guidelines of Sports Code, which is a contradiction. On the
election process, which was to start at 11 hrs but had started at
11.45 hrs, it is stated by the petitioner that if any Returning
Officer takes more time to start voting process, petitioner
Federation can neither be blamed nor it can be treated violation of
election guidelines of the Sports Code.
14. On the issue that, out of 60 eligible voters, 33 voters had
collected the ballot and casted their votes, it is stated by the
petitioner that percentage of voting cannot be ensured in any
election process. On the issue of whether elections can be held in
a special meeting, the petitioner had relied upon Clause 3.18 of
the Government guidelines wherein a reference is made that a
special meeting convened over four years (or earlier as required
under that tenure of the office bearers) to elect the Members of
the Executive Body including President and Secretary.
15. So far as Orissa matter is concerned, it is submitted by the
petitioner in its rejoinder that electoral college issued by the then
General Secretary on November 15, 2015, two groups sent the
names of representative of Orissa Carrom Association. Since the
matter over the post of General Secretary is pending in the Court
of Civil Judge (Junior Division), Bhubaneswar, both the groups
have not been allowed to participate in the elections.
16. Insofar as the signature of the Returning Officer is
concerned, the petitioner cannot question the conduct of the
Returning Officer on any issue particularly on a signature, who
retired as a Judge from Guwahati High Court.
17. So far as the Government Observer‟s signature on Forms
14 and 15 is concerned, it is stated that the Government Observer
categorically refused to sign any document including election
results. On the issue of violation of guidelines of the Sports Code
and the election process being not at all fair and transparent is
concerned, the petitioner has stated as under:-
"(a) The 100% eligible members participated in
the elections.
(b) The respondent ministry had deputed its
Observer and the appointed observer did not give any
adverse report.
(c) After issuing the impugned letter dated
4.2.2016 by the respondent ministry raising points as
alleged violation and they could never defend those
points based on the documents on records or / and
based on their own guidelines.
(d) On the direction passed vide order dated
22.4.2016 by this Hon'ble Court in the present writ
petition the respondent ministry had appointed the
Director (Sports) and the said Director (Sports)
submitted his reports within one month but the
respondent ministry did not produce the same before
this Hon'ble Court even after 3 months of its
submission by the concerned officer of the respondent
ministry."
18. The respondent no.2 has also filed a counter affidavit to
the petition. In his counter affidavit, it is stated by respondent
No.2 that the impugned communication dated February 04, 2016
of the respondent No.1, it has been categorically and
unequivocally stated that the elections of the office bearers of the
AICF held on November 29, 2015 at Guwahati cannot be
considered to be held in a fair and transparent manner. It is
averred that the election was held in violation of model
guidelines of the Sports Code. These anomalies include violation
of (i) Article 15(a)(i) of the Memorandum of Association of All
India Carrom Federation as according to the said Article,
elections have to be held in four years at the Annual General
Meeting; (ii) the elections were late by 45 minutes and started at
11.45 am instead of 11.00 am. Only 33 Members out of 60
nominated Members, who were authorized to cast votes casted
their votes in the elections. There is a discrepancy in the
signatures of the Returning Officer. The documents did not have
the signatures of the Government observer and several
complaints were received with regard to conduct of elections.
19. The Sports Code issued by the Government of India in
essence is complete and comprehensive Code, which provides for
amending the byelaws framed by the various sporting
Federations. With regard to the elections held on November 29,
2015, it is stated that the process was subverted and manipulated
by purported President of AICF Mr. Rakibul Hussain, who was
then serving as a Minister in the Assam Government. On the
apprehension that they will lose the election, Mr. Rakibul
Hussain resorted to illegal actions such as capturing of the
election venue by his political supporters. The Members of All
India Carrom Federation were against Mr. Hussain and his group
brazenly threatened with dire consequences and were asked to
vote in their favour. When all the measures of intimidation
failed, the group opposed to Mr. Hussain was restrained from
voting and they were forced to vacate the election venue. The
Members were subsequently left the venue under the protection
of the police. The aforesaid incidents were covered both by the
print and electronic media. Despite the abovementioned tactics
used by Mr. Hussain and his group, they failed to pull out
majority in the said elections. It is only one Member of the
Hussain group, who was able to secure 30 votes out of 60 votes
as per Electoral College and rest of the Members of the group of
Mr. Hussain, who were contesting for different positions in
elections could pull out only 29 votes out of 60 votes. The four
Members, who were coerced to vote for Mr. Hussain in the said
elections challenged the entire procedure of the election vide their
complaints dated December 02, 2015 and December 22, 2015 to
respondent no. 1.
20. It is also averred that election of Mr. Rakibul Hussain as
the President is illegal for the following reasons; (i) The Ministry
of Education and Social Welfare, Government of India had issued
letter dated September 20, 1975, which is Annexure XI to Sports
Code provides the tenure of office bearers of the sporting
Federation. The proviso to Clause 3 of the letter inter alia states
that an office bearer, who has completed one term shall be
deemed to have been elected if he/she secures a majority not less
than 2/3rd of the Members of the Federation / Association
concern. In other words, as Mr. Hussain able to muster only 30
votes against 40 votes required by him to become the President of
the AICF, his election was illegal and in a wrongful manner.
Respondent No.2 has also stated, the Orissa State Carrom
Federation, which was affiliated Member of respondent No.1,
was not included in the Electoral College on frivolous grounds
and was also restrained from participating in the elections despite
Court orders of the District Court at Bhubaneswar.
21. It is averred that Association of Bengal requested for
change of Electoral College as permitted under Rule 4(4) of
Model Election Guidelines. The same was not allowed and
consequently the nomination of their candidate was rejected. Two
governments servants Mr. Mukul Jha and Mr. S. Lyngdoh were
got elected in violation of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
letter dated February 04, 2010. Mr. V.D. Narayan elected as
General Secretary of the Federation, was ineligible to hold the
said post along with other two employees of the public sector
undertaking, who took part in the aforesaid elections without
taking no objection from their employers respectively. It is also
stated that the election is bad for the reason that voting
compartments were not provided in violation of Rule 10(6) of
Model Election Guidelines; ballot boxes were not sealed in
violation of the guidelines; attendance sheet of the voters was not
authenticated by the Returning Officer or government observer;
the government observer did not sign or verify Form 14 and Form
15; results were declared in different format other than prescribed
Form 15; various important documents including 12 pages of
Form 3, 4 and 6 pertaining to the elections has shown a mismatch
of signatures of the Returning Officer; scrutiny of nominations
was not undertaken in violation of elections circular of General
Secretary dated October 14, 2015 regarding remittance of annual
subscription and in violation of other provisions of Sports Code;
election notice was circulated by suspended General Secretary
Mr. P.S. Bachher; Electoral College was not prepared by General
Secretary but nominations were re-invited by the Returning
Officer with different schedule who prepared Electoral College;
complaints of assault, kidnapping, threat and prevention from
voting were reported to the Returning Officer immediately on
November 29, 2015 but he took no cognizance of those serious
complaints.
22. An additional affidavit dated March 19, 2018 has been
filed by the respondent No.1 wherein it is stated that a letter dated
July 05, 2015 signed by Mr. S. Udaya Kumar respondent No.2 as
In-Charge / General Secretary intimating that Mr. P.S. Bachher
has been suspended by the Working Committee for reasons
mentioned therein was received. It was also informed that the
Working Committee has directed Mr. S. Udaya Kumar to be In-
Charge / Acting General Secretary. In support of his contention,
Mr. S. Udaya Kumar has enclosed various documents like
minutes of the Working Committee dated May 30, 2015; notice
dated June 06, 2015 said to have been issued to Mr. P.S. Bachher;
report of the enquiry committee appointed by the Working
Committee on suspension of Mr. P.S. Bachher; email dated July
05, 2015 sent to Mr. P.S. Bachher informing of his suspension. It
is also stated in the affidavit filed by respondent No.1 that a letter
dated October 06, 2015 was written to the President of the AICF
seeking his comments on suspension of Mr. P.S. Bachher as
General Secretary of the AICF. However, no response was
received from the President of the Federation till the issuance of
the election notice for AICF by Mr. P.S. Bachher on October 15,
2015. Subsequently, on April 22, 2016 pursuant to the orders
passed by this Court, the Director (Sports) heard the parties.
During the hearing, one of the parties Mr. V.D. Narayan
submitted a document purported to have been written on October
14, 2015 by President of AICF stating that Mr. P.S. Bachher was
still continuing as General Secretary. The Director (Sports) who
heard the matter submitted his report inter-alia taking cognizance
of this document and concluded that the grounds for issue of the
order dated February 04, 2016 of the Department of Sports are
not found to be correct based on documents submitted by Mr.
V.D. Narayan.
23. A further affidavit has been filed on behalf of respondent
No.1 on May 04, 2018 wherein in paras 3 to 6, it is stated as
under:-
"3. Based on the report submitted by Shri Vivek
Narayan, Director (Sports) and documents submitted
by the petitioner and the other faction, the matter was
examined in the Ministry. On the findings of the
Director (Sports) Shri Vivek Narayan the then
Secretary (Sports) observed that the issue became
complex due to certain documents submitted by the
parties which were earlier not on record (e.g. Shri
V.D. Narayan submitted a letter purported to have
been written on 14.10.2015 by the then President of
AICF stating that Shri P.S. Bachher was still
continuing as General Secretary. The said letter was
not received earlier in the Ministry and was submitted
during the hearing only (copy enclosed as Annexure-
2). These documents were presented before the then
Director (Sports) during the hearings only, which were
earlier not brought out. Taking note of the above, the
then Secretary (Sports) noted in the file on 16.062016
that:-
"The issue has become complex due to certain
documents now being presented before Director (VN)
which were earlier not brought out. Also, while the
case has been sub-judice, another election has been
conducted by some members of the Federation - where
the returning officer was a Retd. District Judge.
It would be better that a senior office examines the
various facts and issues and suggests the way to be
followed as per Sports Code provisions-the same can
be intimated to Hon'ble High Court before the next
hearing. AS & FA may pl. examine and advise in
time."
Copy of file noting of the then Secretary (Sports) is
enclosed as Annexure-3 and letter dated 18.04.2015
from Shri S. Udaya Kumar declaring new elections is
enclosed as Annexure-4.
4. The matter was then further examined by Additional
Secretary & Financial Advisor of the Ministry, viz. Ms.
Kiran Soni Gupta, who submitted her report on
21.06.2016. The report/observation is in the form of
file noting (enclosed as Annexure-5). The report has
been submitted by Additional Secretary clearly
mentions that "Perused the file and all records". The
report of the Director (Sports) was also on the file.
Hence, it is not correct to say that the report of
Director was not considered. The report/observation
of Additional Secretary, inter-alia, states that
Government Observer appointed by the Ministry for
the elections of AICF held on 29.11.2015 at Guwahati
has submitted in his report that elections were not held
on time and out of the eligible 60 members only 33
members collected their election ballot and cast the
vote. It is seen that 13 State Associations did not
participate in the election process. The participation of
Orissa State is not known from the records, though
they are a Member. The records also revealed that
various important documents relating to the elections
like notice of elections, list of nominated candidates,
declaration of results etc show a mis-match of the
signatures of the Returning Officer. Many of these
important documents like declaration of results and
counting of votes also do not have the signatures of the
Observer Sh. Tiken Singh, the Deputy Director, Sports
Authority of India who was appointed by the Ministry.
Thus, the Additional Secretary observed that
manipulations and forging of records and signatures
cannot be ruled out.
5. The report of the Additional Secretary further states
that records also show although Shri Udaya Kumar
claims to have been appointed as acting General
Secretary by the working Committee on 05.07.2015 yet
no authentic orders have been produced. His charge
taking over report bears only his own signatures. No
signatures are seen by Mr. P.S. Bachher, who is
claimed to be the then General Secretary. The notice
of Special General Body meeting issued by him (held at
Vadodara on 02.04.2016) does not have the approval
of the President of the Federation and thus the entire
exercise of elections carried out by Shri Udaya Kumar
at Hyderabad on 15.05.2016 is of no significance and
the Ministry may not give adequate cognizance.
6. The said report of Additional Secretary further
states that elections held at Guwahati on 29.11.2015
also violated the guidelines of the Sports Code and the
election process was not at all fair and transparent.
Thus, it is stated that the Ministry of Youth Affairs &
Sports (Respondent No.1 herein) rightly directed AICF
on 04.02.2016 to hold the elections in a fair and
transparent manner by the office bearers elected in
2012. It is submitted that the Ministry was advised by
the Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor to
maintain status quo until the case is decided by the
Hon'ble Court. The Ministry has at the level of
Competent Authority accepted the report of the
Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor as well as
her advise to maintain status quo until the case is
decided.
It is to submit that the Hon'ble Court may decide the
matter as deemed appropriate in view of the position of
the Ministry as explained above."
24. I may state here that the following applications have been
filed by the petitioner / respondent No.2. I have referred to the
pleadings therein as relevant to the limited issue to be decided in
these petitions.
CM Nos. Relief sought for
14137/2016 Seeking ad-interim ex-parte stay of Order
dated 4.2.2016
19043/2016 Order 1 Rule 10(2) r/w Order 1 Rule 8A
and Section 151 CPC seeking impleadment
of Mr. S. Uday Kumar as party respondent
16388/2018 Under Section 151 CPC Seeking
permission to send India's entry and to
ensure the participation of Indian Carrom
Team in 5th Work Carrom Tournament
25148/2018 Under Section 151 CPC seeking
permission to submit the entry form
45426/2016 Under Section 151 CPC seeking
production of relevant documents
46888/2016 Under Section 151 CPC seeing direction
against the R-1 to allow the duly elected
office bearers of the petitioner Federation
to carry out the functions of Executive
Committee in terms of elections held on
29.11.2016 at Guwahati (Assam)
1585/2017 Under Section 151 CPC on behalf of
petitioner Federation seeking permission
to organize Senior National & Inter-State
Carrom Championship 2016-17
38513/2017 Under Section 151 CPC on behalf of R-2
seeking direction against the petitioner
Federation to strictly comply the OMs and
orders issued by R-1
38514/2017 Under Section 151 CPC on behalf of R-2
seeking certain directions
W.P.(C) 5684/2016
25. This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner with the
following prayers:-
"It is therefore most respectfully prayed that this
Hon'ble Court may be pleased to:
1. Issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other
appropriate writ or order to Respondent No.1 to direct
Respondent no.3 and Respondent No.4, not to take
adverse action in violation of its order dated
04.02.2016;
2. Issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other
appropriate writ or order to Respondent No.3 and
Respondent No.4 to not use unauthorizedly the name
and property of the Respondent No.2;
3. Issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any
appropriate writ or order to Respondent No.1 to
expedite its process pertaining to the recognition of the
elections of the office bearers of the Respondent No.2
which were held on 15.05.2016 at Hyderabad;
4. Pass such other Order/further Orders as this
Hon'ble court may deem fit and proper in the facts and
circumstances of the present case."
26. In this case, the factual aspects as narrated by the
petitioner are almost similar to the one reproduced above, at least
till the issuance of order dated February 04, 2016 by the
respondent No.1. The averments as made in the writ petition post
the issuance of order dated February 4, 2016 are that on March
15, 2016, an email was sent by Mr. S. Udaya Kumar respondent
No.2 in W.P.(C) 3314/2016 to all State Associations informing of
the decision of the respondent No.1 dated April 04, 2016. On
March 16, 2016 notices of the meetings were issued by Mr. S.
Udaya Kumar to consider and take action on the decisions taken
by respondent No.1 vide its letter dated February 04, 2016. On
April 01, 2016 meeting of the AICF was held. Pursuant thereto,
on April 02, 2016 a Special General Body Meeting of the AICF
was conducted. On May 15, 2016 fresh elections were conducted
at Hyderabad in terms of the Model Elections Guidelines / Sports
Code and the memorandum of association of AICF. It is the case
of the petitioner, pursuant to the aforesaid elections, he was
elected as General Secretary of the AICF. Other office bearer
elected in the said elections was Neeraj Sampathy as President. A
reference is, made in the petition about the show cause notices
issued by the respondent No.3 in this writ petition namely Mr.
V.D. Narayan to all the affiliated Units as to why their State
Carrom Associations participated in the elections of respondent
No.2 which was held on May 15, 2016. A reference is also made
by the petitioner about his writing a letter dated June 06, 2016 to
the Under Secretary of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs
declaring the respondent No.3 Mr. V.D. Narayan as persona-non-
grata and also bar him from all activities portraying himself as
General Secretary of respondent No.2 (AICF) and with a
specific request that the respondent No.1 should not entertain,
consider or respond to any communication made by Mr. V.D.
Narayan as General Secretary of AICF.
27. Counter affidavit has been filed by respondents 2 and 3
wherein it is stated that this petition has been filed with a view to
distract the attention of the Court and to delay the proceedings of
W.P.(C) No. 3314/2016. A reference is made to a challenge to
the order dated February 04, 2016. According to the respondents
2 and 3, the said letter is a combination of misrepresentation of
facts on record and also misrepresentation of the election
guidelines of the Sports Code.
28. Respondents 2 and 3 in their counter affidavit have
averred that the petitioner has concealed the following vital
facts:-
1. That the petitioner has submitted his claim as
representative of respondent No.2 in the Bank of the respondent
No.2 i.e State Bank of India, Chandni Chowk, Delhi-6.
2. The petitioner has participated in the election process of
the respondent No.2 held on November 29, 2015 which was
invalidated by respondent No.1 vide their letter dated February
04, 2016.
3. The petitioner had issued a letter dated November 11,
2015 through email to the members of the respondent no. 2 and
stated that one Mr. Perala Shekar Rao is the nominee for
President post from his group and is Vice Chairperson of Nehru
Yuva Kendra Sangathan of Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports, Govt. of India and has, great rapport with Mr.
Sarbananda Sonowal, the then Sports Minister, Govt. of India
and enjoyed his support and confidence. He had also stated that
Mr. Sekhar Rao will do his best and use his good office with the
Sports Ministry to see that Carrom is introduced in the National
games and also the Asian and Commonwealth Games. This
communication was forwarded to Mr. A. K. Patro, Under
Secretary of the Ministry of Sports, Govt. of India on November
25, 2015 for his information with a remark that Mr. Vijay
Kumar is using the name of the then Sports Minister Mr.
Sarbananda Sonowal as support of his panel.
4. The petitioner in the present writ petition is the General
Secretary of the Chhattisgarh Carrom Association, and is a
member of the respondent No.2.
5. The petitioner had filed his nomination for the post of
General Secretary of All India Carrom Federation in its election
held on November 29, 2015 at Guwahati wherein respondent
no. 3 (answering respondent) was duly elected as General
Secretary of the respondent no. 2.
6. The petitioner has declared himself as elected General
Secretary of the respondent No. 2 on November 29, 2015
without any election process. He has created lot of confusion
through media and other means of communication among the
various stakeholders including the innocent players.
7. The petitioner has participated in the meetings convened
by an unauthorized person in the name of All India Carrom
Federation.
8. The Petitioner has conducted the following two activities
under the authority granted in writing by the then General
Secretary Mr. P.S. Bachher of the respondent No.2 and signed
the participation certificates with Mr. P. S. Bachher to whom he
has mentioned as suspended General Secretary on the dates of
these activities.
a. All India Carrom Federation Cup Carrom Tournament
held at Raigarh in July 2015.
9. Sub junior National & Inter State Carrom Championship
at Raipur in September 2015.
10. The petitioner has participated in the Annual General
Body meeting convened by the then General Secretary Mr. P.S.
Bachher on September 13, 2015 at Guwahati and was part of
resolution passed by the General Council to take disciplinary
action against Mr. S. Udaya Kumar for his acts of projecting
him as Acting General Secretary.
29. On the aforesaid aspects, the respondent Nos. 2 and 3
have stated as under:-
(i) The elections of the respondent No.2 were held on November
29, 2015 under the supervision of Justice Sunil Kumar Kar,
(Retd.), who acted as Returning Officer. The respondent No.1
had also sent its Observer Mr. L. Tikan Singh, Dy. Director,
Sports Authority of India.
(ii) Respondent No.2 had submitted its election report to
respondent no. 1 on December 07, 2015 and to International
Carrom Federation, the apex body of Carrom in the World of
which the respondent no. 2 is member since 1988.
(iii) The answering respondent. no 3 had taken over charge
from the outgoing General Secretary Mr. P.S. Bachher on
December 09, 2015.
(iv) International Carrom Federation after scrutiny of
documents sent to them have ratified the election results and
issued a letter dated February 17, 2016 recognizing the newly
elected office bearers of Respondent no. 2. They have
mentioned that respondent no. 4 Mr. Rakibul Hussain and
Respondent No.3 Mr. V.D. Narayan are the recognized office
bearers of the respondent no. 2 AICF.
(v) The respondent no. 1 vide letter dated February 4, 2016
had unilaterally pronounced its decision that in view of the
violation of the Model Election Guidelines of the Sports Code
the result of the election of Respondent No 2 AICF held on
November 29, 2015 at Guwahati cannot be considered to be
held in fair and transparent manner and in accordance with the
provisions of the Sports Code.
(vi) Respondent No.1 vide its letter dated February 4, 2016
had raised the „following 4 points as violation to the Model
Election Guidelines of the Sports Code and made it as ground
for rejecting the election report submitted by the Respondent
No.2 through Respondent No.3 along with outgoing General
Secretary Mr. P.S. Bachher.
(i) Elections were held before its due date.
(ii) Returning Officer on October 26, 2015 had issued notice
for preparation of Electoral College.
(iii) At the time of appointment of RO Electoral College was
not prepared.
(iv) Mr. P.S. Bachher was suspended by the Working
Committee but the election notice was issued by, Mr. P.S.
Bachher and the elections held in pursuance of that notice.
(v) Respondent No. 3 on behalf of Respondent No.2
immediately vide letter dated February 4, 2016 had submitted a
representation to the respondent no. 1 and clarified all the 4
points with documentary evidences in support of his arguments
that, the respondent no. 2 has not violated any clause of Model
Election Guidelines of the Sports Code.
(vi) The respondent no. 1 vide letter dated February 8, 2016
had issued a clarification to its letter dated February 4, 2016 and
admitted that Mr. P.S. Bachher is the recognized General
Secretary of the Respondent No.2. (At this stage the respondent
No. 1 had withdrawn one charge out of 4 charges of violation
which were alleged vide their letter dated February 4, 2016).
However, despite getting satisfactory reply, from the respondent
No.2 through respondent No.3 the respondent No.1 did not
respond to the remaining three points allegedly raised vide their
letter dated February 4, 2016.
(vii) A reminder dated February 21, 2016 to Respondent No.1
was sent by respondent no. 2 through respondent No.3 but did
not get any response to it for a period of about 50 days. It is
stated by respondent Nos. 2 and 3 that despite the fact that
respondent No. 1 had received the election report and report of
its observer by December 7, 2015 they did not take any action
on it for a period of more than 2 months. It is also stated that the
respondent no. 1 while replying to an RTI appeal had
categorically mentioned that after election and before Govt.
approval there are no guidelines to stop any elected office bearer
from functioning. Accordingly the respondent no. 3 had taken
charge from outgoing General Secretary Mr. P.S. Bachher.
However the Respondent No.4 who was elected once again
remained at his position in the new committee as well.
(viii) It is stated by respondent Nos. 2 and 3 that the respondent
No. 2 left with no other option but to approach this Court by
way of filing Writ Petition (C) 3314/2016. This Court vide its
order dated April 22, 2016 had passed an order as "meet the
representative of respondent no. 2 on April 27, 2016 and to look
into the matter and make further inquiries as to the claim of the
petitioner and repercussion if any of holding election before due
date or any other bar thereto and the report thereof be produced
before this court on the next date of hearing" i.e. May 18, 2016.
(ix) The respondent no. 3 on behalf of Respondent No.2 met
the Director (Sports) of the respondent no. 1 and clarified all the
points raised in the letter dated February 4, 2016.
(x) The Director (Sports) of the respondent No.1 further
called the respondent No.3 on May 4, 2016 along with one Mr.
S. Udaya Kumar to whom the respondent No.1 was treating as
faction of the respondent No.2.
(xi) In the meantime while the legal process was on through
W.P. (C) 3314/2016 to find out the genuineness of letter dated
February 4, 2016 issued by the respondent no. 1, Mr. S. Udaya
Kumar without any authority convened purported meeting of
AGM on May 15, 2016 stating that as per order dated February
4, 2016 of the respondent no. 1 the AGM and election of
respondent no. 2 is being conducted on May 15, 2016 at
Hyderabad.
(xii) On May 18, 2016 the next date of hearing of WP (C)
3314/2016 All India Carrom Federation Vs. Union of India the
respondent no. 1, instead of filing the report of the officer, who
conducted the hearing on the direction of this Court vide its
order dated April 22, 2016, had submitted an affidavit stating
that the Director (Sports) had submitted his report on May 13,
2016 but the same is under examination of respondent no. 1.
The respondent no. 1 sought six weeks time, which was granted
and fixed next date of hearing on July 19, 2016. It is stated that
as per the Court order dated April 22, 2016 in WP (C)
3314/2016 the report so prepared by the Director (Sports) of the
respondent No.1 after meeting the petitioner on April 27, 2016
and May 04, 2016 was required to be filed in the court on May
18, 2016 but the report was kept with respondent for their
examination before producing it to the court. The petitioner has
not been provided a copy of this report ever. However, the
respondent ministry had provided a copy of the affidavit dated
May 18, 2015 and July 12, 2016 to the petitioner.
(xiii) It is stated that the respondent no. 1 after pointing out the
alleged violation of the Sports Code has never defended its
stand on those points of alleged violation by respondent no. 2.
Respondent No. 1 maintained its complete silence over the
points raised in their letter dated February 4, 2016 after receipt
of representation from the respondent no. 2 through respondent
no. 3 vide letter dated February 4,2016. The respondent no. 1
has gone upto the extent that they have concealed the report of
the Director (Sports) who conducted two hearings on the
direction of this Court vide its orders dated April 22, 2016 and
filed an affidavit on July 12, 2016 in WP (C) 3314/2016.
However, respondent no. 1 has not reiterated or defended those
points of alleged violations in their affidavit dated July 12,
2016. Those points are completely withdrawn by respondent
no. 1 which were used as a tool for rejecting the election report
submitted by the respondent no. 2. However, the Returning
Officer a retired Judge and Govt. Observer appointed by the
Respondent No. 1 who were physically present as neutral
officials, have not given any adverse report to the respondent
no. 1 rather the Returning Officer has mentioned that the
election was held in a transparent manner and as per Sports
Code. Moreover, the Observer appointed by the respondent
ministry for the election of the respondent no. 2 held on
November 29, 2015 at Guwahati and who was present during
the election on November 29, 2015 as representative of the
respondent ministry has also not given any adverse reports to
the respondent ministry.
(xiv) It is stated that the entire WP (C)/5684 is based on letter
dated February 4, 2016 issued by the respondent No.l Govt. of
India, Ministry of Sports and from the above narrated points the
respondent No.1 is unable to defend its letter dated February 04,
2016 and / or the points alleged.
30. The respondent No.1 has also filed two affidavits on
August 24, 2016 and October 24, 2016 wherein apart from
reiterating the stand already taken in W.P.(C) No. 3314/2016, it is
also stated that the faction of AICF lead by Mr. S. Udaya Kumar
had conducted election of AICF on May 15, 2016 at Hyderabad
and submitted its report, in spite of the fact that they were well
aware of the hearing held with both the groups as per the
direction of this Court and the matter was sub judice. According
to the respondent No.1, the record shows that although Mr. S.
Udaya Kumar claims to have been appointed as Acting General
Secretary by the Working Committee, yet no authentic orders
have been produced. His taking over the report bears only his
own signatures. No signatures of Mr. P.S. Bachher have been
observed in that report. The notice of Special General Body
Meeting issued by Mr. S. Udaya Kumar does not have the
approval of the President and thus the entire exercise of the
election carried out by Mr. S. Udaya Kumar on May 15, 2016 at
Hyderabad is of no significance. It is also stated, the elections
held at Guwahati and Hyderabad have not been considered as
valid. Therefore, the respondent No.1 has rightly directed the
Federation to hold the elections afresh in a fair and transparent
manner through the process in line with the provision of the
Sports Code.
31. The petitioner in W.P.(C) 3314/2016 is represented by
Mr. V.D. Narayan. It is his submission that the impugned order
dated February 4, 2016 declaring the elections of All India
Carrom Federation held on November 29, 2015 is invalid on all
grounds. According to him, the premise on which the impugned
order was passed are (i) as per the Sports Code, the President /
General Secretary of the Federation shall prepare a list of
authorized representative(s) of the members, but the same was
not prepared by the President / General Secretary of the
Federation. This necessitated the Returning Officer to prepare the
Electoral College and hence there is a violation of the election
guidelines of the Sports Code from the beginning; (ii) further
vide letter dated July 5, 2015, AICF has informed that Mr. P.S.
Bachher, the General Secretary of the Federation was suspended
by the Working Committee and Mr. S. Udaya Kumar will be
working as Incharge / Acting General Secretary.
32. According to Mr. V.D. Narayan, the ground (i) is
factually incorrect since Electoral College was prepared by
General Secretary of AICF as required by the Sports Code. In so
far as ground (ii) above is concerned, it is his contention that the
same is also factually incorrect. According to him, respondent
no.1 makes all correspondences with the National Sports
Federation through its General Secretary / President. Hence, any
correspondence, which is received by respondent no.1 from any
person other than President / General Secretary of the Federation
cannot be treated as communication of that Federation. In the
present case, Ministry had recorded the names of President and
General Secretary of AICF and intimated to the General
Secretary of AICF vide its order dated October 12, 2012. Mr.
V.D. Narayan also stated that the impugned communication dated
February 04, 2016 is not proceeded by any show cause notice to
the petitioner to meet the allegations made therein and hence in
violation of principles of natural justice. He in his submission
that Mr. Bachher was the General Secretary has referred to the
letter dated July 5, 2015 to state that the said letter confirms that
even the letterhead used by Mr. S. Udaya Kumar, respondent
no.2 finds mention the name of Mr. Bachher as General Secretary
and Mr. Rakibul Hussain as President. Since none of them had
signed the letter, the said communication cannot be treated as a
communication from AICF. In fact, it is his submission that
respondent no. 1 never took cognizance of the letter dated July 5,
2015 before or after the election. However, it was used for
issuing the impugned order only. He stated records also confirm
that respondent no. 1 never communicated with Mr. S. Udaya
Kumar as Acting General Secretary. It is clear from the letter
dated February 4, 2016 which has been addressed to the General
Secretary and not Acting General Secretary. Even the
correspondence between Mr. Bachher, the then General Secretary
of AICF and Mr. A.K. Patro, the Under Secretary of respondent
No.1, who issued the impugned letter dated February 4, 2016
shows that the respondent no. 1 had 'continued to recognize Mr.
Bachher as General Secretary between July 5, 2015 and
November 29, 2015. In this regard, he draws my attention to the
affidavit filed by the petitioner at Page 818 wherein reference is
made to the following correspondence between Mr. Bachher and
Mr. Patro:
(i) Letter of Mr. A.K Patro issuing NOC on August 10, 2015
for International Carrom Tournament to be held in India / New
Delhi.
(ii) Letter of Mr. Patro dated November 3, 2015 to the
General Secretary, AICF on appointment of Government
Observer for election to be held on November 29, 2015 at
Guwahati. The Government Observer appointed by respondent
no. 1 asking certain documents from Mr. Bachher, General
Secretary, AICF.
33. Mr. Narayan also states that filing of the writ petition by
Mr. S. Udaya Kumar being W.P.(C) 8753/2015 seeking
directions against respondent No.l to the extent (a) record the
suspension of Mr. P.S. Bachher (b) to recognize Mr. S. Udaya
Kumar as the Acting General Secretary (c) stay on the Annual
General Body Meeting convened by Mr. Bachher on September
13, 2015 at Guwahati was dismissed as withdrawn on September
11, 2015 with liberty to avail all remedies under the Civil Law. In
this regard he also states that the fact that the writ petition has
been filed by Kumar for the reliefs already stated above would
demonstrate that Union of India was not recognizing Mr. S.
Udaya Kumar as the General Secretary of AICF.
34. Mr. Narayan also submitted that the respondent no. 1 on
October 6, 2015 i.e. three months after the receipt of the letter
dated July 5, 2015 sought a confirmation from, the President,
AICF on the suspension of Mr. Bachher, General Secretary,
AICF. Mr. Rakibul Hussain, President of AICF sent a reply vide
his letter dated October 14, 2015 mentioning therein that the
meeting convened by Mr. Kumar is not only illegal but also an
act of anti federation activity. According to Mr. Narayan, Mr.
Hussain had categorically mentioned that Mr. Bachher is the
General Secretary of AICF and still has confidence of more than
2/3rd members of AICF which is evident from the meeting of the
General Council of AICF held on September 3, 2015. That apart,
it is the submission of Mr. Narayan that 100% eligible members
of the AICF including Mr. S. Udaya Kumar who was claiming to
be Acting General Secretary participated in the election process
by responding to the election notice dated October 14, 2015
issued by Mr. Bachher, the then General Secretary. He submitted
that the International Carrom Federation, the Parent Body of
AICF had also approved the election held on November 29, 2015
after investigating the entire matter and had issued letter of
recognition to newly elected body led by Mr. Rakibul Hussain as
President and Mr. V.D. Narayan as General Secretary. He
stresses on the fact that before the issuance of the approval letter
of recognition to the newly elected office bearers, international
body looked into the entire controversy created by respondent no.
1 by issuing the impugned letter dated February 4, 2016 during
their visit to India in February, 2016. He stated, no one has ever
challenged the election dated November 29, 2015 in any court of
law till date. In any case, it is his submission that pursuant to the
order passed by this court on April 22, 2016 directing the
respondent no. 1 to conduct the enquiry after meeting the
petitioner on April 28, 2016 at 15:00 Hrs. and produce the record
before the court on May 18, 2016, the Director (Sports) of
respondent no. 1, who conducted the enquiry, submitted his
report on May 13, 2016. The Director (Sports) in his report has
categorically come to a conclusion that (1) there is no bar as per
the Sports Code to hold elections before due date; (2) the grounds
of issuance of letter dated February 4, 2016 by Department of
Sports, are not found to be correct based on the documents
submitted by Mr. V.D. Narayan in the hearing. So the order
dated February 4, 2016 has to be tested only on the basis of the
report furnished by the Director (Sports) and it is clear, the
election having been validly held, could not have been annulled
by respondent no. 1. He stated after the declaration of the result,
the petitioner has taken over as the General Secretary of the AICF
and has been discharging the functions as the General Secretary,
as he has organized many tournaments in different parts of the
country.
35. In view of his submissions, he seeks the granting of the
reliefs prayed in the writ petition.
36. Mr. Bhagwan Swarup Shukla, learned CGSC appearing
for the respondent no. 1 has drawn my attention to the affidavits
filed by respondent no. 1, Govt. of India including the one at page
897, the details of which have already been reproduced above
only to contend that pursuant to the report submitted by Director
(Sports), Secretary (Sports) was of the view that a senior officer
examines the various facts and issues and suggests the way to be
followed as per Sports Code provisions and accordingly directed
the Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor to examine and
advise him in time. Accordingly, Additional Secretary and
Financial Advisor of the Ministry submitted her report on June
21, 2016, wherein, Additional Secretary inter-alia stated that the
Government observer appointed by the Ministry for the elections
held on November 29, 2015 at Guwahati has submitted his report,
that the elections were not held on time and out of eligible 60
members only 33 members collected their election ballot and
casted their vote. Reference is also made about the non-
participation 13 State Associations in the election process. The
participation of Orissa state is also not known, though they are
the member. Mr. Shukla stated that the record reveals that various
important documents relating to elections like notice of elections,
list of nominated candidates, declaration of results etc. show a
mismatch of the signatures of the Returning Officer. Many of the
important documents, declaration of results and counting of votes
also do not have signatures of the observer. Hence, the Additional
Secretary observed that the manipulation and forging of the
records and signatures could not be ruled out. Mr. Shukla has
drawn my attention to the notings of the Additional Secretary at
Pages 723 to 727 of the paper book. He states that the conclusion
of the respondent no. 1 in the impugned order with regard to the
holding of election other than at Guwahati in any case cannot be
contested by the petitioner.
37. Mr. Aseem Mehrotra, learned counsel appearing for the
respondent no.2 in his submissions has reiterated the stand taken
by respondent no. 2 in his counter-affidavit and the same can be
summed up in the following manner:
(i) The elections held on November 29, 2015 at Guwahati
are contrary to and in violation of the norms of National Sports
Code.
(ii) They were conducted in unfair and undemocratic manner.
(iii) The entire election process was subverted and manipulated
by the President Mr. Rakibul Hussain, who was then serving as
a Minister in the Assam Government. The members of the All
India Carrom Federation, who were against, Mr. Hussain were
threatened with dire consequences. When all the measures of
intimidation failed, members of the All India Carrom Federation
who opposed Mr. Hussain were restrained from voting and they
were forced to vacate the election venue. The said members
subsequently left the election venue under the protection of
police and were escorted by the police officials. Mr. Hussain
could not get majority in the election as Mr. Hussain's group got
only 30 votes out of 60 votes. Four members who were coerced
to vote in favour of Mr. Hussain's group challenged the entire
procedure of the elections vide complaints dated December 2,
2015 and December 22, 2015.
(iv) Even otherwise, Mr. Hussain who was a Minister in the
Assam Government was contesting for the post of the President
for the second term and he was again elected as the President in
the election held on November 29, 2015. The election was ex-
facie illegal in view of the Ministry of Education and Social
Welfare, Government of India letter dated September; 20, 1975,
which provided the tenure of the office bearer of Sports
Federation, and which also stated that office bearer who has
completed one term shall only be deemed to have been elected
if he / she secures majority of not less than 2/3 votes of the
members of the National Sports Federation Association
concerned.
(v) The Orissa State Carrom Federation which was an
affiliated member of respondent no. 1 was not included in the
Electoral College and was restrained from voting. Further
Association of Bengal which is an affiliated State member of
respondent no. 1 requested for change of Electoral College as
permitted under Rule 4 (4) of Model Election Guidelines. The
same was not allowed. Two government servants namely Mr.
Mukul Jha and Mr. S. Lyngdoh were got elected in violation of
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports OM dated February
4,2010.
(vi) Mr. V.D. Narayan who, purports to have been elected as
General Secretary of the Federation was ineligible to hold the
said post along with two other members of public sector
undertakings who took part in the aforesaid election without
taking NOC from their employers respectively.
38. According to Mr. Mehrotra, LIC of India has made a
similar rule for its employees. Perusal of which would reveal that
Mr. Narayan was not eligible to contest the election. This aspect
of non-eligibility of Mr. Narayan was also brought to the notice
of respondent No.l in letter dated February 9, 2016 as also
regards Mr. Rakibul Hussain. The election of office bearers of
respondent no. 1 which was held on November 29, 2015 at
Guwahati were postponed wrongfully by about an hour without
issuing a notice to the members of the Electoral College; voting
compartments were not provided; ballot boxes were not sealed;
attendance sheet of the voters was not authenticated by Returning
Officer or Government Observer; the Government observer did
not sign or certify Form 14 and Form 15; results were declared in
different format other than prescribed Form 15; various important
documents pertaining to the election has shown a .mismatch of
signatures of the Returning Officer; scrutiny of nominations was
not undertaken in violation of election circular of General
Secretary dated October 14, 2015 regarding remittance of annual
subscription in violation of other provisions of Sports code;
election notice was circulated by the suspended General
Secretary Mr. P.S. Bachher; the Electoral College was not
prepared by the General Secretary, but nominations were re-
invited by the Returning Officer with different schedule to
prepare Electoral College; Form-14 was neither prepared nor
issued / published immediately after the scrutiny but was
circulated through e-mail on November 21,2015.
39. Mr. Mehrotra had also argued that the report of Director
(Sports) of respondent no. 1 having been further considered by
the Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor of respondent no.
1, who had still opined that the elections conducted were in
violation of guidelines of the Sports Code and the same being not
at all fair and transparent had justified the direction of the
respondent no. 1 directing the AICF to hold elections in fair and
transparent manner by the office bearers elected in the election
held in 2012. He stated, these are the developments subsequent
to passing of order dated February 4, 2016 and that too pursuant
to the directions given by this Court on April 22, 2016 in W.P.(C)
3314/2016. The said report even though subsequent to the
impugned order cannot be overlooked by this Court while
adjudicating the dispute. In other words he contested the
submission made by Mr. Narayan that the impugned order needs
to be tested only on the grounds stated therein and not otherwise.
In this regard he has relied upon the following judgments of the
Supreme Court:
(i) Chairman, All India Railway Recruitment Board and
Anr. v. K. Shyam Kumar and Ors. (2010) 6 SCC 614;
(ii) PRP Exports and Ors. v. Chief Secretary, Government
of Tamil Nadu and Ors. (2014) 13 SCC 692.
40. Mr. Mehrotra states that the impugned order needs to be
upheld as the same is in violation of the National Sports Code by
relying upon the judgment of this Court in the case Indian
Olympic Association v. Union of India (2014) SCC Online
Delhi 2967.
41. Mr. Jai Sahai Endlaw, learned counsel appearing for the
petitioner in W.P.(C) 5684/2016 in his submissions only
reiterated the stand of the petitioner in the writ petition and
pressed for the reliefs as prayed for in the petition. Mr. Ajay
Digpaul, learned CGSC appearing for the respondent no. 1 in the
said writ petition also reiterates the stand of the respondent no. 1
in its affidavit. In so far respondent nos. 2 to 5 are concerned, the
contents of the detailed affidavit have already been referred
above. According to Mr. Narayan, the elections at Guwahati held
on November 29, 2015 were just and proper and the elections in
Hyderabad are illegal and seeks the dismissal of the writ petition.
42. Having heard the learned counsel for the parties, before I
deal with the submissions so advanced by the representative of
the petitioner and the learned counsel for the respondents, it is
necessary to refer to some of the orders passed by this Court; the
Division bench of this Court and the Supreme Court. On May 17,
2017, an application being CM No. 18735/2017 was filed by the
petitioner, AICF which was dismissed. Against the said order, the
petitioner filed an LPA being No. 407/2017. On May 29, 2017,
the Division Bench in that LPA had passed the following order:-
"5. When the matter was taken up on the last date of
hearing, i.e. 26.05.2017, we had suggested that the
Court may appoint an Ad-hoc Committee with
representation of the petitioner, the other faction
represented by respondent No.2, ex-players, and with a
senior officer in the Ministry of Sports so that the
functioning of the Federation is not jeopardized till the
writ petition is disposed of."
6. In that respect, Mr. Shukla had tendered, in Court,
an email communication dated 26.05.2017 received
from the Under Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs
and Sports, Government of India Mr. A.K. Patro. The
said communication states that the matter had been
discussed with the Secretary (Sports) Dr. Sagar Preet
Hooda. The respondent No.1 is agreeable that the
Director (Sports) may head the Ad-hoc Committee. It
was also stated that the two ex-players - one male and
one female, could also be part of the Committee.
7. Since the Ad-hoc Committee would function for and
on behalf of the appellant Federation, it is agreed that
Mr. VD. Narayan and respondent No.2, namely, Mr. S.
Udayakumar be also made a part of the said Ad-hoc
Committee. We are inclined to include Mr. V. D.
Narayan as well as the respondent No.2 as a part of
the Ad-hoc Committee, also for the reason that the
International Federation corresponds with and
recognizes the Indian Federation while functioning
through its office bearers - whose particulars are
communicated to the international body. It is informed
that, presently, Mr. V.D. Narayan is the person
authorized to deal with the international body. The two
ex-players whose consent has been taken for inclusion
in the Ad-hoc Committee are Mr. A. Maria Irudyam
(Mobile No.9841306430) and Ms. Kunja Phanse
(Mobile Nos. 9427329822, 9427033879).
8. Accordingly, the Ad-hoc Committee is constituted by
this Court consisting of the Director (Sports) as the
Chairperson; Mr. A. Maria Irudyam and Ms. Kunja
Phanse as the two ex-players male and female
respectively; Mr. VD. Narayan and Mr. Uday Kumar
as the other members. The Committee shall function
under the chairmanship of the Director (Sports). The
decisions shall be taken by the Committee preferably
unanimously. However, in case there is a tie, the
decision shall be taken by the Chairman, i.e. the
Director (Sports), who shall have the casting vote.
9. The decisions of the Committee shall be deemed to
be decisions of the Federation, and in case any
communication is required to be addressed to the
International Federation regarding the said decisions,
Mr. V.D. Narayan shall appropriately send a
communication in terms of the decisions taken by the
Committee. The Federation shall be deemed to be
recognized in respect of the decisions taken by the
Committee on its behalf In accordance with the
decision taken by the Committee, Mr. V.D. Narayan
shall issue the Railway Concession Forms and the
Prospectus to the players.
10. The functioning of the Committee shall not lead to
any financial burden on the Government or its
members, and all the expenses incurred by the
Committee towards holding its meetings shall be to the
account of the Federation. The Committee shall, in its
functioning, keep in mind the mandate of the
Federation; the calendar of the Federation; as well as
the national and international obligations in relation to
the sports of Carrom.
11. The first meeting of the Committee shall be held on
09.06.2017 at 11:30 a.m. in the office of the Director
(Sports). No further communication/ notice in respect
of the said meeting shall be required to be given to the
appellant or respondent No.2. However, this order
shall be communicated to the ex-player members by
this Court as well as by the appellant under recorded
delivery within four days.
12. This Committee has been formed with the consent
of all the parties present. It is made clear that
constitution of the Committee shall not vest any rights
in either of the contesting factions/ parties and, while
formulating this Committee, this Court has not
reflected on the merits of the claims of either of the two
factions. It is hoped that the Committee shall function
keeping in view the interest of the sport of Carrom and
its players in India. The Committee shall exist till the
writ petition is disposed-off, and appropriate orders
are passed in the writ proceedings in relation to the
functioning of the Federation by the Court.
13. The appeal stands disposed-off in the aforesaid
terms."
43. The LPA 407/2017 was finally decided on August 25,
2017 wherein the Division Bench in Paras 15 to 17 had passed
the following order:
"15. In these circumstances, since the hearing of the
writ petition is getting delayed on account of pendency
and the sport of carom and the interests of players is
getting affected for the past about 17 months, due to
lack of clear direction as to who will administer the
affairs of the Federation, . we are inclined to stay the
operation of the orders dated 04.02.2016 and
08.02.2016 issued by the Govt. of India, Ministry of
Youth Affairs and Sports till the learned Single Judge
takes up either the hearing of the stay application and /
or the writ petition itself.
16. Accordingly, the appellant Federation shall, till
further orders passed by the learned Single Judge in
the writ proceedings or any other appropriate
proceedings, continue to exercise it powers and
jurisdiction in relation to the sport of carom. The
respondent / UOI is directed to take corrective steps in
view of this order in all aspects including in respect of
issuance of railway concession forms, etc. The
respondent / UOI shall in the interim, also take steps to
upload on relevant websites the results communicated
by the Dy. Director, SAI, EC, Kolkata Govt. Observer,
of All India Carrom Federation Gen. Election 2015,
Guwahati, and pass orders in respect of the
recognition of the appellant Federation and its office
bearers, as per the election results of 29.11.2015.
17. We make it clear that the observations made by us
in this order are made purely for the purpose of
examining the reliefs to be granted in the present
appeal. The learned Single Judge shall be free to take
an independent view in the matter after hearing the
parties."
44. It is noted that against this order, respondent no.2 had
filed an SLP before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court
disposed of the SLP on July 16, 2018 with the following order:-
"Having heard the learned counsel for the parties, we
are only inclined to request the High Court to dispose
of the writ petition within a period of six weeks,
without being influenced by the directions /
observations made in the orders passed in LPA No.
407/2017 and Review Petition No. 325/2017.
With the aforesaid request, the Special Leave Petition
is disposed of."
45. It may be relevant to state here that two more LPAs were
filed by the petitioner herein AICF; being LPA 102/2017 and
LPA 310/2018. In LPA 102/2017 the challenge was to the order
dated January 16, 2017 passed in CM. No. 1585/2017 in W.P.(C)
3314/2016 wherein this Court on an application filed by the
petitioner had issued notice and sought for the replies. The said
LPA was disposed of by the Division Bench directing this Court
to dispose of CM. No. 5185/2017. The LPA being 310/2018 was
filed by the petitioner challenging the order dated April 20, 2018
whereby the application of the petitioner being CM. No.
14137/2016 for stay of the impugned order dated February 4,
2016 was disposed of on May 28, 2018 by the Division Bench
requesting this Court to decide the writ petition on merits finally
at the earliest convenience within two months from the receipt of
the order. Having noted the orders passed by the Division Bench
and the Supreme Court, the parties / their counsel have been
heard.
46. Mr. V.D. Narayan in his submissions has contested the
impugned order dated February 4, 2016 on the ground that Mr.
P.B. Bachher was never suspended and the Electoral College was
prepared by the General Secretary. In support of his submissions,
Mr. Narayan has stated the following:
1. Letter dated July 5, 2015 confirms that Mr. S. Uday
Kumar, respondent no.2 used a letterhead which
finds mention the name of Mr. Bachher as General
Secretary and Mr. Rakibul Hussain as President.
2. Respondent no.1 has never communicated with Mr.
S. Uday Kumar as Acting General Secretary. Even
the correspondence between Mr. Bachher and Mr.
A.K. Patrol, Under Secretary shows that
respondent no.1 continued to recognize Mr.
Bachher as General Secretary between July 5,
2015 and November 29, 2015. In this regard, he
referred to letter dated August 10, 2015 of Mr.
Patro issuing NOC for International Carrom
Tournament, letter of Mr. Patro dated November 3,
2015 to the General Secretary, AICF.
3. Filing of the writ petition by Mr. S. Uday Kumar
being W.P.(C) 8735/2015 seeking directions to the
extent recording the suspension of Mr. Bachher
and to recognize him as Acting General Secretary
confirms that Mr. Kumar was not recognized as the
General Secretary of the AICF.
4. On October 6, 2015, respondent no.1 had sought
clarification from the President, AICF on
suspension of Mr. Bachher, General Secretary,
AICF.
5. Mr. Rakibul Hussaion, President of AICF sent a
reply dated October 14, 2015 mentioning therein
that a meeting convened by Mr. Kumar was illegal.
He categorically stated that Mr. Bachher is the
General Secretary of AICF.
6. Mr. Kumar who was claiming to be the Acting
General Secretary participated in the election
process by responding to election notice dated
October 14, 2015 issued by Mr. Bachher, the then
General Secretary.
47. I note the only stand of Mr. S. Udaya Kumar (Respondent
No.2) is that Mr. Bachher has been suspended by the Working
Committee. The Working Committee had directed Mr. S. Udaya
Kumar to be the Incharge / Acting General Secretary. Reliance
was placed on various documents like minutes of the Working
Committee dated May 30, 2015; notice dated June 6, 2015 stated
to have been issued to Mr. Bachher; the report of the Enquiry
Committee appointed by the Working Committee on suspension
of Mr. Bachher; e-mail dated July 5, 2015 sent to Mr. Bachher
informing his suspension. It appears that pursuant to these
communications only, respondent no.1 issued letter dated
October 6, 2015 to the President, AICF seeking his comments on
the suspension of Mr. Bachher as General Secretary, to which, as
transpired during hearing before the Director (Sports), a letter
dated October 14, 2015 was written by the President, AICF
stating that Mr. Bachher is still continuing as General Secretary.
That apart, the very fact that Mr. S. Udaya Kumar had
participated in the election process as a representative of
Pondicherry Association, pursuant to a notice dated October 14,
2015 issued by Mr. Bachher would itself show that Mr. Kumar
could not have contested the position of Mr. Bachher as the
General Secretary. Further, he filed a writ petition before this
court inter-alia seeking for reliefs, which included recognizing
him as the General Secretary of the AICF which was finally
withdrawn. The filing of the writ petition itself would reveal that
he was not being recognized as the General Secretary. It is also
seen that the Electoral College was prepared by Mr. Bachher as is
contemplated under the Rules. So it must follow, Mr. Bachher
was the General Secretary. To that extent, the ground in the
impugned letter dated February 04, 2016, as contended by
Director (Sports) is incorrect. But on the other issues raised by
Mr. S. Udaya Kumar before him, the Director (Sports) observed
that Department of Sports may examine those relating to age and
tenure, election procedure followed etc. as per the provisions of
the Sports Code. It is noted that the report of Director (Sports)
Mr. Vivek Narayan was considered by the Secretary of the
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, who opined that a senior
officer examines the various facts and the issues and suggest the
way to be followed as per the Sports Code provisions.
Accordingly, the aspect of the election was considered by the
Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor, who on detail
analysis found anomalies in the elections held in Guwahati. Her
observations are reproduced as under:-
"10. Based on study of records and above mentioned
observations, it is important to draw attention of the Ministry
to the many anomalies in the record. The elections held at
Guwahati on 29.11.2015 on the basis of Special General Body
meeting. However, as per the model election guidelines to be
followed by National Sports Federations Part 3(2) mention:-
"elections shall be held at the Annual General Council meeting
in accordance with a procedure prescribed hereinafter, from
amongst the representatives of the permanent
States/UTs/Boards/Institutions."
However, it is seen that Guwahati elections were vitiated to
that extent. It is also pertinent to note from the report of the
observer Sh. L. Tiken Singh that elections were not held on
time and out of the eligible 60 members only 33 members
collected their election ballot and casted the vote. It is seen
that 13 State Associations did not participate in the election
process. The participation of Orissa State is not known from
the records, though they are a Member. The records also show
that the various important documents relating to elections like
notice of elections, list of nominated candidates, declaration of
results etc show a mis-match of the signatures of the Returning
Officer. Many of these important documents like declaration
of results and counting of votes also do not have the signatures
of the Observer Sh. Tiken Singh, who was appointed by the
Ministry. Thus, manipulation and forging of records and
signatures cannot be ruled out.
11. Records also show although Sh. Uday Kumar claims to
have been appointed as acting General Secretary by the
working Committee yet no authentic orders have been
produced. His taking over report bears only his own
signatures. No signatures are seen by Mr. P.S. Bachher. The
notice of the Special General Body meeting issued by him (held
at Vadodara) does not have the approval of the President of
the Federation and thus the entire exercise of elections carried
out by him is of no significance and the Ministry may not give
adequate cognizance.
12. In view of the above many anomalies it is very clear that
elections held at Guwahati violated the guidelines of the Sports
Code and the election process was not at all fair and
transparent. Thus the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has
rightly directed them to hold the elections in a fair and
transparent manner by the office bearers elected in the
elections held in 2012. The matter is already before the Court
and next date of hearing is 19th July, 2016. The Ministry is
advised to maintain status-quo until the case is decided."
48. Suffice to state, the above conclusion has been accepted
by the Competent Authority. It may be stated here that the
impugned communication dated February 04, 2016 may have lost
its relevance to some extent but still the conclusion arrived at by
the respondent No.1 through its Additional Secretary and
Financial Advisor with regard to the anomalies found in the
conduct of elections held at Guwahati, and the observation that
the Ministry has rightly directed the AICF to hold elections in a
fair and transparent manner; it is to be seen whether this
conclusion arrived at is justified. The conclusion is for the
following reasons:-
(i) The elections held at Guwahati on November 29, 2015
was on the basis of Special General Body meeting, which is at
variance with the Model Election Guidelines to be followed by
National Sports Federation Part 3(2) which mentions that the
elections shall be held at the Annual General Meeting;
(ii) The report of the Observer, L. Tiken Singh that elections
were not held on time and out of 60 eligible Members only 33
Members collected their election ballot and casted the vote;
(iii) Thirteen State Associations did not participate in the
election process;
(iv) The participation of Orissa State is not known from the
records, though they are a Member;
(v) Various important documents relating to elections like
notice of elections, list of nominated candidates, declaration of
results etc. show a mis-match of the signatures of the Returning
Officer;
(vi) Many documents like declaration of results and counting
of votes also do not have the signatures of the Observer Sh.
Tiken Singh;
(vii) Manipulation and forging of records and signatures
cannot be ruled out.
49. That apart, I have already reproduced the grounds on
which Mr. S. Udaya Kumar in his counter affidavit and Mr.
Mehrotra in his submissions alleged that the elections held at
Guwahati were not transparent and were unfair. No rejoinder to
the same has been filed by the petitioner. In his rejoinder to the
short affidavit of respondent No.1, the petitioner on the starting
of the election process at 11.45 hrs instead of 11 hrs, stated if any
appointed Returning Officer takes more time to start voting
process, the petitioner Federation neither can be blamed nor it can
be treated as violation of guidelines of the Sports Code; (ii) with
regard to voting by 33 voters out of 60 eligible voters, it is the
stand of the petitioner that percentage of voting cannot be
ensured in any election process; (iii) insofar as the Orissa matter
is concerned, as per the Electoral College issued by the then
General Secretary on November 15, 2015 two different groups
sent the names of representatives of Orissa Carrom Association.
Since the matter over the post of General Secretary is pending in
the Court of Civil Judge (Junior Division), Bhubaneswar, both
the groups have not been allowed to participate in the said
election.
50. The aforesaid reasoning of the petitioner does not
satisfactorily answer all the grounds on which the Additional
Secretary and Financial Advisor has directed the conduct of fresh
elections. Further, the collection of ballots and voting thereof by
33 members only, has no justification and the same may have
materially affected the outcome of the election. Further, in Para
(vii) of the W.P.(C) 3314/2016, it is the case of the petitioner that
office bearers of the Society are elected once in four years at the
Annual General Meeting. So it follows, the elections cannot be
held in special meeting as happened in this case on November 29,
2015. The plea of Mr. Narayan that no-one has challenged the
election of November 29, 2015, is inconsequential as the
Approving Authority, the Government of India i.e. the respondent
No. 1 has not approved the elections, and has directed fresh
elections in a fair and transparent manner. That apart there are
complaints filed on record by one S.K. Sharma dated December
02, 2015 and December 22, 2015, which also throw some light in
the manner in which the elections were held. Taking into account
the totality of facts, it must be held the conclusion arrived at by
the Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor for conduct of
fresh elections by the office bearers elected in the elections held
in the year 2012 is not unreasonable. This I say so as the
objective underlying the process of election is that the persons,
who have the highest mandate, take over the reins of the
Association provided that the process is fair and transparent.
51. The plea of Mr. V.D. Narayan that the principles of
natural justice have been violated and that the order dated
February 04, 2016 needs to be tested on the grounds referred to
therein is concerned, the same is not appealing for the reasons,
firstly there is no provision in the Byelaws, which entail that
respondent No.1 while considering the legality of the election
process need to give any hearing even if the approval is not
granted; secondly after filing of the writ petition, an order dated
April 22, 2016 was passed by this Court inter-alia directing the
respondent No.1 to look into the matter and make further
enquiries as to the claim of the petitioner and repercussion, if any
of holding election before due date or any bar thereto. As
directed by this Court, Mr. V.D. Narayan and the respondent
No.2, the contesting parties herein were given hearing by the
Director (Sports) Mr. Vivek Narayan. The parties have filed
documents/pleadings before Mr. Narayan. Upon hearing Mr.
Narayan had come to the conclusion, as narrated above. Based
on the same record / material, even Additional Secretary and
Financial Advisor takes a view for fresh elections by the
Members elected in the elections of 2012. So the matter of
elections having been considered from the perspective of Sports
Code / fairness, and conclusion is for fresh elections no prejudice
has been caused to the petitioner while passing the order dated
February 04, 2016. The irregularity, if any stands cured.
52. On the plea of Mr. Narayan that the order has to be tested
on the grounds stated in the letter dated February 04, 2016 is
concerned, the said proposition of law is not in dispute but this
Court while adjudicating a dispute, is within its right to take into
consideration the subsequent events / developments that have
taken place that too in terms of the direction of this court and
draw a conclusion whether the decision of the respondent No.1
directing the conduct of fresh elections is justified, which this
Court, in the facts of this case finds so.
53. Mr. Mehrotra is justified in relying upon the judgment of
the Supreme Court in the case of PRP Exports and Others
(supra), wherein the Supreme Court in para 8 held as under:-
"8. Shri Harish Salve, learned senior counsel appearing for
the Petitioner, submitted that he is more concerned with the
first question and arguments were advanced by him as well as
Shri C. Sundaram, learned senior counsel appearing for the
State, on that point. In our view, the Division Bench of the
High Court is right in examining the subsequent events as
well in a case where larger public interest is involved. This
Court in All India Railway Recruitment Board v. K. Shyam
Kumar [(2010) 6 SCC 614] distinguished Mohinder Singh
Gill's case (supra), stating when a larger public interest is
involved, the Court can always look into the subsequent
events. Relevant paragraph of the judgment is extracted
hereinbelow :-
"45. We are of the view that the decision-maker can
always rely upon subsequent materials to support the
decision already taken when larger public interest is
involved. This Court in Madhyamic Shiksha Mandal,
M.P. v. Abhilash Shiksha Prasar Samiti found no
irregularity in placing reliance on a subsequent report
to sustain the cancellation of the examination
conducted where there were serious allegations of
mass copying. The principle laid down in Mohinder
Singh Gill case is not applicable where larger public
interest is involved and in such situations, additional
grounds can be looked into to examine the validity of
an order. The finding recorded by the High Court that
the report of CBI cannot be looked into to examine the
validity of the order dated 4-6-2004, cannot be
sustained.
54. Mr. Mehrotra is also justified in relying upon the
judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Chairman, All
India Railway Recruitment Board and Another (supra), wherein
the Supreme Court in para 45 held as under:-
"45. We are of the view that the decision maker can always
rely upon subsequent materials to support the decision
already taken when larger public interest is involved. This
Court in Madhyamic Shiksha Mandal, M.P. v. Abhilash
Shiksha Prasar Samiti and Others, (1998) 9 SCC 236 found
no irregularity in placing reliance on a subsequent report to
sustain the cancellation of the examination conducted where
there were serious allegations of mass copying. The principle
laid down in Mohinder Singh Gill's case is not applicable
where larger public interest is involved and in such
situations, additional grounds can be looked into to examine
the validity of an order. Finding recorded by the High Court
that the report of the CBI cannot be looked into to examine
the validity of order dated 04.06.2004, cannot be sustained."
55. In view of my above discussion and upholding letter
dated February 04, 2016 to the extent it directs conduct of fresh
elections, this Court is of the view that to ensure elections are
held by the Members elected in the elections of the year 2012 in a
transparent, free and fair manner, strictly in accordance with the
guidelines of the National Sports Code / Byelaws, the following
directions need to be issued:-
(i) The Management Committee of the year 2012 shall
continue to be the Management Committee of the All India
Carrom Federation till the new Management Committee is
appointed pursuant to the elections to be held in terms of this
order.
(ii) Justice R.V. Easwar, a Retired Judge of this Court (D-41
Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 95606899997) is appointed as the
Observer to observe the conduct of the elections. He shall be
paid an amount of `1.75 lakh excluding any out of pocket
expenses for transportation, Secretarial Services (if any) etc.
which shall be reimbursed as per actuals. The aforesaid amount
shall be paid by the AICF;
(iii) The President in consultation with the Observer shall
appoint the Returning Officer.
(iv) The venue of the elections shall be decided by the
Returning Officer in consultation with the Observer. The
elections shall be completed on or before 10 weeks effective from
16th August, 2018. The election results along with the report of
the Observer (if any) shall be submitted to respondent No.1 for its
approval.
(v) The Management Committee of 2012 shall inform the
ICF about this order.
56. The Writ Petition (Civil) No. 3314/2016 is disposed of as
such.
57. In view of my conclusion above, the prayers made in
W.P.(C) No. 5684/2016 do not survive and the petition need to be
dismissed.
CM Nos. 38513-38514/2017 in W.P.(C) 3314/2016 (for
interim directions)
Dismissed as infructuous.
V. KAMESWAR RAO, J
AUGUST 06, 2018/ak/jg
