Delhi HC rules against NSFs

New Delhi, July 3: The Delhi High Court on Friday said the practice of granting provisional recognition to National Sports Federations (NSFs) in the country without ascertaining whether they are following the sports code cannot be allowed to go on.

“We won’t allow the provisional system to go on without the NSFs following the sports code. That is not going to happen. Ask the NSFs to put their house in order,” a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Najmi Waziri said.

The observation by the bench came while hearing a plea moved by the Sports Ministry seeking permission to grant provisionalannual recognition to 57 NSFs.

It, however, issued notice to advocate Rahul Mehra and sought his stand on the application which has been filed in his petition moved in 2010 for probe into various sports bodies.

It was on his petition that the high court had directed in the past that all the NSFs have to adhere to the National Sports Code.

The high court also asked Mehra to indicate in his affidavit which of the 57 NSFs were not adhering to the sports code and which are, so that provisional recognition may be granted to those complying with the code.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and central government standing counsel Anil Soni, appearing for the ministry, urged the bench for an interim order granting permission to provisionally recognise the NSFs.