Delhi High Court appoints Justice Najmi Waziri headed committee to manage Equestrian Federation of India

The Delhi High Court has appointed an ad hoc administrative committee (AAC) headed by former Delhi High Court judge Justice Najmi Waziri to manage the affairs of the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) [Rajasthan Equestrian Federation v Equestrian Federation of India and Ors]..Justice Waziri will act as Chairperson of the Committee to which former Chief Election Commissioner of India Dr. SY Quraishi will be an observer and advocate Rohini Musa will be a member.The EFI is the governing body for equestrian sports (sports which involve use of horses) in India. .In an order passed on May 21, Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju said that the AAC shall take over the day-to-day administration and functioning of the EFI. Once it assumes charge, the existing office bearers will no longer be entitled to discharge any function.“The AAC will have the power to issue all appropriate directions as may be necessary for the day to day functioning of Respondent No. 1/EFI under the signatures of the Chairperson. The AAC shall be authorised to make appropriate arrangements for the governance of Respondent No. 1/EFI until the elections are held. The decision of the learned Chairman shall be final and binding on the Respondent No. 1/EFI,” the Court ordered.The Bench gave the EFI 10 days to submit a report to the AAC setting out all the decisions taken by the federation’s erstwhile secretary general from September 29, 2023 till date.“The AAC shall file its Report within six weeks and thereafter, as directed by the Court. This interim arrangement shall continue until further orders of the Court,” the Court added..The High Court passed these directions while dealing with a plea filed by Rajasthan Equestrian Federation arguing that EFI is conducting elections in contravention of the National Sports Development Code of 2011 by extending voting rights to clubs and institutions.The observer appointed by the Court submitted that there is a conscious and concerted effort to prevent him from gaining access to the records EFI and that there are numerous instances of maladministration in the Federation and that the administration is being carried out in a non-transparent manner.It was also pointed out by the observer that the requirements of the Sports Code were not being complied with by the EFI..Justice Ganju considered the case and held that the prevailing circumstances necessitate the appointment of an administrative committee for EFI as an interim arrangement.The Court said that till the EFI elections are held, it cannot be left without any office bearer.However, the Bench said, given the situation at the federation, its functioning cannot be left to officials whose tenure has expired and who are acting capriciously and in violation of the directives of the Court."There is an urgent and immediate need to protect the interest of the equestrian sports to avoid further deterioration in its affairs, and to safeguard the larger public interest underlying the sport as well as the sportspersons dependent upon it,” the Court stressed..Senior Advocate Rajiv Dutta along with advocates Ashish Kothari, Devang Gautam, Neha Singh and Vishes Goel appeared for Rajasthan Equestrian Federation.Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta and advocates Kirtiman Singh and Manmeet Kaur Sareen represented the EFI.Central Government Standing Counsel (CGSCs) Ajay Digpaul, Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar and Vineet Dhanda and advocates Srish Kumar Mishra, Sagar Mehlawat, Alexander Mithai Paikaday, M Sriram and Krishana V represented the Union of India.Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra along with advocates Piyush Kumar, Vikash Singh, Sagar Chaurasia and RA Iyer appeared for the court observer. .[Read Judgement]