Court revokes award to Olympic body chief
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday asked Indian Olympic Association president N Ramachandran to return the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar (RKPP) 2011, saying it was awarded without “proper inquiry and application of mind.”
The court directed the sports ministry and the Sports Authority of India to return the award within four weeks.
While passing the judgement on a petition filed by Tatpal Singh Jaggi & others, Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice RK Gauba concurred that “no attempt to secure some form of feedback from the users, or ask for tangible material, apart from what was given, was made by the Selection Committee or the Central Government. Even the complaints which were given post-announcement were merely referred back to the fifth respondent (Ramachandran). All these show at best a casual mind, at worst, they betray some kind of premeditated determination to somehow go ahead and confer the Puraskar.”
The judges added that “no document pertaining to the specifics with respect to the contributions received from Ramachandran, either monetary support or endorsements channelised by him through companies or any supportive material in this regard was placed on record.”
Petitioners had challenged the award given to Ramachandran on the grounds that he did not fulfill Rule 4 of the scheme for the award. The rule stipulates a minimum contribution of ` 2 crore in the preceding financial year towards sports promotion and development. The petitioners also argued that Ramachandran was denied the same award in 2009. It was only when the ministry reconstituted the committee in 2011 removing Olympians and Arjuna Awardees from the panel that he was conferred with the award.
Ramachandran was not available for comments. Rahul Mehra, who appeared on behalf of the petitioners, said the judgment was a scathing comment on the way the ministry works. “It is a commentary on how the national awards are being doled out to private persons arbitrarily and whimsically. The mala fide of the ministry in changing the composition of the selection committee is writ large in the case,” Mehra said.