Indian Hockey Federation restored!
Two years after the Indian Hockey Federation was dissolved on charges of bribery and poor on-field performance by the team, a Delhi court hearing the case has restored the federation to its original form.
The Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) had sacked and appointed a new body by the name of Hockey Club in its place to manage the affairs of Indian Hockey. The federal government and the IOC had disassociated itself from the hockey federation in April 2008. The move came after a sting operation caught the secretary of the hockey federation, K Jothikumaran on camera for taking a bribe in exchange for selecting a player. In response, the secretary denied the allegations stating he had not taken a bribe to select a player, but in order to start preparing for an international tournament.
In the aftermath of the scandal, the IHF was initially suspended by the Indian Olympic Committee but a fortnight later, the IHF was dissolved. The scandal paved the way for the management to change. Subsequently, the federation challenged this decision through its head, KS Gill.
After a long and arduous legal battle, the Indian Hockey Federation was revived by the Delhi High Court. After reading out the verdict, Justice S Muralidhar said the disaffiliation carried out by the IOC was illegal. He said that it would be unfair to dissolve the IHF on the basis that it would jeopardise India’s future in terms of participating in the Commonwealth Games which are still a few months away. The order automatically reinstated former police official KS Gill who headed the Indian Hockey federation prior to April 2008.
The court called the procedure of dissolving the hockey federation illegal on the basis that legal procedures were not followed and that the federation was not given any chance to defend itself or even refute the allegations smeared on them. The verdict stated that before taking any punitive action against a sporting body, a show cause notice must be sent to them, which in this case did not happen. Furthermore, the court felt that in order to take corrective action against one office bearer, it was unnecessary to dissolve the entire body. The court has now directed the Ministry for Sports and Youth Affairs in India to evolve a standard operating procedure for future purposes. After holding the ministry responsible for not submitting its version to the court, the report said that the body did not have the right to grant recognition to Hockey India.
Hockey India went through its own share of tribulations ever since its inception. Due to legal tangles and affiliation issues, it never managed to hold internal elections, missing the first deadline set by the International Hockey Federation.
The court said that Indian hockey has gone through a period of turmoil and a new beginning was the need of the hour so that Indian hockey can be revived in all its glory. Indians were considered the masters of the game at one point with eight Olympic titles in their kitty. But infighting and mismanagement resulted in a dismal performance in the years that followed. The recently concluded FIH World Cup in Delhi saw the team finish on a miserable 8th position.
However, despite the court order, the secretary of Hockey India claims that he will still continue to manage the affairs of Indian Hockey, as they enjoy the support of both the Asian Hockey Federation as well as the International Hockey Federation. But the question is what impact these decisions will have on the game of hockey and its revival on the international circuit.
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