National sports federations must prioritize athlete welfare and uphold transparency, as revealed by internal inquiries discovering misconduct and inefficiency in governance.

JUDGMENT

Rekha Palli, J.(Oral)

1. The petitioner, a top-ranked Table Tennis player who has been representing India since 2008 in various tournaments internationally, has preferred the present petition seeking the following reliefs:

"(i) A Writ of Certiorari or any other writ, order or direction quashing the Rules and Regulations titled as "Rules and Regulations for National Camp" dated 04.08.2021 (Annexure P4, [Pg. 289]) issued by Respondent No. 1; and

(ii) A Writ of Mandamus or any other writ, order or direction thereby directing the Respondent No. 1 to include the name of the Petitioner in the contingent representing India in the upcoming Asian Table Tennis Championship; and

(iii) A Writ of Mandamus or any other writ, order or direction thereby directing the Respondent No. 2 to enquire into the management of the Respondent No. 1; conduct of Respondent No. 3 and other officials of Respondent No. 1 as detailed in the present petition and the email of the Petitioner dated 14.08.2021 and the Representation sent by the Petitioner to Respondent No.1 dated 17.09.2021 and Respondent No.2 dated 17.09.2021 under the supervision of this Hon'ble Court; and

(iv) Any other reliefs, orders or directions, which this Hon'ble Court considers just and fit in the circumstances of the case, in the interest of justice and in favour of the Petitioner."

2. When the writ petition was taken up for preliminary hearing on 23.09.2021, learned senior counsel for the petitioner had raised certain allegations against the respondent no.3's alleged attempt at match-fixing by pressurizing her to concede a match in favour of another player, Ms. Suthirtha Mukherjee. It was also the petitioner's case that, instead of inquiring into the alleged misconduct of the respondent no.3, the respondent no.1 federation had, instead, issued her a Show Cause Notice on 20.08.2021, seeking an explanation from her for not allowing the national coach to accompany her during her matches at the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, 2021. In the light of, inter alia, these serious allegations raised by the petitioner, this Court had, on 23.09.2021, directed the respondent no.2/Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, to get the petitioner's complaint expeditiously examined by an appropriate Committee.

3. Pursuant thereto, when a report by the Committee appointed by the respondent no.2/Ministry, examining the petitioner's complaint, was handed over to the Court on 15.11.2021, it transpired that the said Committee, except for opining that the Show Cause Notice issued to the petitioner was uncalled for, had not given any opinion regarding the complaints made by the petitioner qua match-fixing, which was one of the primary issues to be determined by the said Committee. This Court had, therefore, with the consent of the parties, then appointed an independent three-member Committee ("Inquiry Committee") to look into the petitioner's complaint. The Inquiry Committee consisted of two former judges of the Supreme Court; and a former athlete, an Arjuna awardee of repute.

4. Pursuant to the Court's order dated 17.11.2021 the Inquiry Committee, after conducting detailed hearings and considering the interrogatories issued to the respondent no.1 federation, had furnished its report ("Inquiry Report") giving its findings on four issues, which Inquiry Report was furnished to the Court in a sealed cover on 03.02.2022.