Delhi High Court Appoints Justice Gita Mittal As Chairperson Of Committee Of Administrators To Run Table Tennis Federation Of India

The Delhi High Court has appointed Justice Gita Mittal, former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court as Chairperson of the Committee of Administrators to conduct the affairs of the Table Tennis Federation of India.

Justice Rekha Palli appointed a three member committee of administrators on Friday this week, thereby suspending the operation of it's Executive Committee after observing that prima facie, conduct of the federation was blameworthy.

"This Court is, therefore, of the opinion that till a deeper scrutiny of respondent no.1's affairs is carried out, either by the Union of India or by an independent Committee, a Committee of Administrators is required to be immediately appointed to conduct the affairs of the respondent no.1 federation," the Court said.

The Court was dealing with a plea filed by Table Tennis player Manika Batra, challenging the Rules issued by Table Tennis Federation Of India (TTFI) which makes attending of National Coaching Camp compulsory for being selected for international events.

The Committee of Administrators will include the following:

- Chairperson: Chief Justice (Retd.) Gita Mittal, former Chief Justice, Jammu & Kashmir High Court.

- Member: Mr. Chetan Mittal, Senior Advocate.

- Member: Mr. SD Mudgil, a renowned athlete.

The following directions are issued to facilitate the smooth functioning of the Committee of Administrators:

- The Executive Body of respondent no.1 will acquiesce their administrative duties to the Committee of Administrators, while the staff engaged by the respondent no.1 federation will continue to work on the same terms and conditions as was applicable to them. Since, there are a number of tournaments coming up in the near future, it is expected that the Executive members of the Committee, who claim to be working in the interest of the sportspersons, will render all assistance to the Committee of Administrators, as and when required.

- Even though this Committee is being constituted only to ensure that the morale of sportspersons and pride of the country is safeguarded, and the efforts which the three members will be required to put in cannot be compensated, it is directed that a monthly honorarium to be paid to the members of the Committee of Administrators, for the present is being fixed at INR 3 lakhs for the Chairperson, and INR 1 lakh each for the two members.

- Upon the Committee of Administrators as nominated above assuming charge, the existing office bearers of the respondent no.1 federation shall no longer be entitled to discharge any function of the federation but will, as already directed, render assistance to the Committee of Administrators, as and when requested by the said Committee.

- The Committee of Administrators will have the power to issue all appropriate directions, under the signatures of the Chairperson, as may be necessary for the functioning of the federation. The Committee of Administrators will be entitled to utilise the existing office of the respondent no.1, as also to avail the services of the staff already employed by respondent no.1.

- All communications on behalf of the respondent no.1 federation with any sportsperson or international sports bodies, will now take place only through the Committee of Administrators.

- Any of the two members of the Committee of Administrators will, with the prior approval of the Chairperson, be authorised to sign all cheques on behalf of respondent no.1. All the banks where the respondent no.1 federation have bank accounts, are directed to treat the members of the Committee of Administrator as being authorised signatories of respondent no.1. The Committee of Administrators will submit a periodic report, including that relating to accounts, every two months.

- It will be open for the Committee of Administrators to seek any such further directions from this Court, as may be necessary.

Batra was aggrieved over the fact that she waa left out of the contingent being sent for the 25th ITTF Asian Table Tennis Championships, 2021 to be held in Doha from September 28 till October 4.

The petition alleged that Soumyadeep Roy, the national coach, had pressurized Batra to "throw away" a match with a view to help one of his trainees at his private academy to qualify for the Olympics, 2020. She thus seeks enquiry into the Federation's management and conduct of Roy.

The development came after the Court in November last year decided to constitute a 3-member committee to inquire into the allegations of match-fixing levelled by Table Tennis player Manika Batra against national coach Soumyadeep Roy.

On Friday, the Court observed that the conduct of the federation has been undoubtedly questionable as it has been misusing its position to feed into the whims of some of its officials, including national coach, without any consideration of the mental agony they are putting their sportspersons through.

"The people of this country take great pride in the achievement of their sportspersons, who undergo rigorous training for years and show remarkable grit while representing their Country at international platforms, and bring laurels to the country with their remarkable dedication and sportsmanship," the Court said.

It added "It pains this Court to see that, instead of celebrating, honouring and encouraging the meritorious sportspersons, the respondent no.1 federation has gone out of its way to undermine their efforts. This it appears is only with an aim to further the interests of a select few officials, who clearly have no regard for the welfare of the sportspersons. It is therefore, imperative that the conduct and functioning of the respondent no.1, which prima facie appears to be in breach of the Sports Code, 2011, should be inquired into."

The Court said that there was no explanation either by the federation or Soumyadeep Roy as to why he was appointed as the national coach when he was running his personal academy.

The Court said that since there were a number of tournaments in the coming future, it was expected that the members of the executive committee will render assistance to the administrator as and when required.

Earlier, the Court had directed the Central Government to conduct an independent enquiry into the allegations put forth by Batra and the show cause notices issued to her by the Federation.

On a perusal of the central committee's report headed by the Joint Secretary of the Sports Department, the Court had opined there was no question of any misconduct on Batra's part.

Case Title: Manika Batra v. Table Tennis Federation of India & Ors.

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Del) 111

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