High Court stays appointment of AAC in EFI, gives control back to EC

NEW DELHI: The Divisional bench of the Delhi High Court on Wednesday stayed the appointment of Adhoc Administrative Committee (AAC) to run the day-to-day affairs of the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) and gave back the control of the sports body to the Executive Committee elected in 2019.

The Delhi High Court, while hearing a plea by Rajasthan Equestrian Association (REA), had ordered on May 24 the appointment of an ad-hoc panel headed by Justice (Retd) Nazmi Wajiri to manage the routine work of EFI.

The federation filed a Letter Patent Appeal (LPA) against the order of the single bench and got a favourable decision.

The Court brought back the 20-member Executive Committee that had come into existence after the 2019 elections.

"We had faith in the judiciary. We thank the court for hearing our concerns and delivering justice in this case. This is a crucial Olympic year and we want to stay focussed on providing the best-possible support to our athletes. This decision will help us in this endeavours of ours," Col Jaiveer Singh, who will now continue as Secretary General of the EFI, said.

India have so far earned one quota for the Paris Games in the Dressage event through Asian Games bronze medallist Anush Agarwalla.

Agarwalla, who won an individual bronze and team gold in Hangzhou, was allotted the quota on the basis of his performance in four FEI events – Wroclaw, Poland (73.485%) Kronenberg, Netherlands (74.4%), Frankfurt, Germany (72.9%), and Mechelen, Belgium (74.2%).

Like shooting and wrestling, the Olympic quotas belong to the National Federation.

There were allegations of wrongdoing levelled on the current dispensation but Jaiveer said they stand vindicated.

REA had dragged EFI to court, claiming that the Executive Committee members have extended their terms in violation of the Sports Code.

In a separate petition, the REA has accused the EFI of breaching the Sports Code by granting voting rights to clubs and institutions, which they contend should be reserved only for state associations.

"We have done nothing wrong. The allegations of impropriety were baseless. We have always worked for the betterment of sport and our athletes and will continue to do so.

"The exemptions we had got from the Sports Ministry was a validation of our intent and the multiple requirements and needs of the sport. We were working in tandem with the government and will continue to do so," Jaiveer said.