Shooting World Cup 2023: Delhi High Court appoints ex-SC judge Justice AK Sikri as administrator to oversee fund utilisation

The Delhi High Court on Thursday appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice AK Sikri as an administrator to oversee the utilization of funds for the upcoming International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup being held in India in March, 2023. .A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad passed the order while hearing an application moved by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI)."Hon’ble Mr. Justice (Retd) Arjan Kumar Sikri, former Judge Supreme Court of India, is appointed as an administrator to oversee the utilization of funds in the World Cup event that is being held in India in March, 2023. The Administrator can also take the assistance of any sportsperson of his choice, who has been a national or international shooter, to assist him in the matter," the court ordered. The funds released must get the concurrence of the administrator, the Court said. It added that Justice Sikri will be free to fix his remuneration commensurate to the work and the same will be paid by the Central government. .The NRAI moved the Court seeking modification of the order that had directed that no more monies will be expanded by the Union government to any national sports federation which are not complying with the Sports Code as well as the orders of the Supreme Court and High Court.It was argued that the High Court's stay is affecting the smooth functioning of the National Sports Federations as the entire working capital has come to a standstill.The Court was told that India is hosting World Cup for the shooting sport and stoppage of funds would have an adverse affect.The NRAI said that it is is dependent on the government for the conduct of international events in India and various activities including training of the shooters and their participation in the international events..However, petitioner-in-person Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra, objected to the application saying that the NRAI is also in violation of various clauses of the Sports Code and any latitude to the applicant would result in further applications being filed before this Court by other sport federations. Mehra then gave an ad hoc solution - to constitute a committee of a retired judge of the High Court along with olympian Abhinav Bindra to oversee the World Cup event in March, 2023 and the funds which are proposed to be released must be passed through the Committee. .After considering the case, the bench said that Mehra's suggestion is a fair solution and the prestige of the country will be affected if there is any impediment in organising the World Cup event which would require funding from the government. Therefore, the Court appointed Justice Sikri as the administrator and asked him to furnish his report in a sealed cover to the Court after conclusion of the event. .Rahul Mehra appeared in-person along with advocates RA Iyer, Chaitanya Gosain and Anand Thumbayil. .Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma, Central Government Standing Counsel Anil Soni and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar along with advocates Amit Gupta, Saurabh Tripathi, Sahaj Garg, Srish Kumar Mishra, Sagar Mehlawat and Alexander Mathai Paikaday appeared for the Central government. NRAI was represented by Senior Advocate Kirti Uppal along with advocates Aditya Vikram Singh and Chandan Sinha. .[Read Order]