Haryana...

Following a hue and cry from sportspersons on Friday, Khattar tweeted that he has asked the sports department to show the relevant file to him and that the notification be put on hold till further orders. Interestingly, Khattar had signed off on the original notification.

Olympic medal winning pugilist, Vijender Singh, also a Haryana police officer who turned professional in 2015, hockey player Sardara Singh and wrestler Geeta Phogat are among the sportspeople that would have been affected by the notification. Phogat has publicly disagreed with the imposition of these conditions.

The requirement of depositing a third of income earned through professional sports and commercial endorsements with the government is applicable for every government employee under the provision of Punjab Civil Services Rules (as applicable to Haryana). The April 27 notification listing conditions for sportspersons employed by the government who participate in professional sports or commercial endorsements is an interpretation of those provisions.

Rule 5.55 of Punjab Civil Services Rules say that a competent authority may permit a government employee to receive an honorarium as remuneration for work performed which is occasional or intermittent in character and or of such special merit as to justify a special reward. The acceptance of remuneration however has to be first approved by the competent authority. The rules also say that one third of the total amount of any fee or remuneration ..... paid to a government employee shall be credited to general revenues.

The premier Indian Institutes of Management or IIMS have similar rules governing consulting income earned by the faculty.

The current controversy dates back to 2015 and involved Vijender Singh.

A deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in Haryana, Olympian Singh’s decision to turn pro by signing a contract with a UK based company, Queensberry attracted a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Punjab and Haryana high court. The Haryana home department said in a statement before the high court that Singh had not kept his employer (the Haryana government) in the loop.

The state government came to the boxer’s rescue by stating before the HC bench that service and conduct rules for outstanding sportspersons who had bought laurels to the country at the international level and were subsequently recruited by the state government as icons of sports, needed to be modified to allow them leave and permission to sign contracts, endorsements and participate in professional or amateur gamesbecause most athletes have a limited shelf-life.