$~80 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(C) 15335/2025 REEPAK KANSAL .....Petitioner Through: Ms. Geeta Rani and Mr. Avinash Lakhanpal, Advocates.

versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS .....Respondents Through: None.

Date of Decision : 8^th October, 2025 CORAM:

HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE TUSHAR RAO GEDELA

J U D G M E N T

TUSHAR RAO GEDELA, J : (ORAL)

1. Present Public Interest Litigation has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, 1950 seeking a direction to the respondents to prevent any private body from being portrayed as a national team without statutory recognition; and to restrain the respondent no.3/Prasar Bharti from projecting the cricket team of respondent no.5/Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) as ‘Team India’ or the ‘Indian National Team’.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner states that the BCCI is a private society registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975 and not a statutory body or a “State” within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India. He refers to replies of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports dated 14.12.2017 and 11.09.2018, whereby the information requested by the petition