Supreme Court Appoints Former Judge L. Nageswara Rao to Finalise AIFF Constitution

Supreme Court Appoints Former Judge L. Nageswara Rao to Finalise AIFF Constitution

The Supreme Court has appointed former Judge Justice L. Nageswara Rao to undertake the responsibility of finalizing the draft Constitution of the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) along with all suggestions, comments, and objections made by the stakeholders to the said Constitution.

The division judges’ bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and JB Pardiwala directed to submit the comprehensive report by 31st July.

“We are of the considered view that similar exercise was carried out under the orders of this court in relation to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) by Justice L. Nageswara Rao. It would be appropriate to entrust the task of finalizing the constitution to the former judge of this Court,” the Court added.

The case dates back to 2017, the Delhi High Court had ordered to set aside the election of the office-bearers of the AIFF. The direction was passed in a petition filed by sports activist Advocate Rahul Mehra, who had contended that the elections for office bearers violated the National Sports Code.

Thereafter, a three-member Committee of Administrators (CoA) was constituted by the Supreme Court to enable the holding of elections and handing over the affairs to democratically elected body.

Subsequently, the Constitution created by the CoA was circulated to all stake holders for comments, objections, and suggestions.

The principal issue before the bench of Supreme Court was to approve the AIFF constitution as finalized by the CoA.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Amicus Curiae in the matter, submitted a tabulated chart before the court elaborating on provisions of the draft constitution, name of the stakeholders who had objected, commented, or suggested anything, and the nature of the objections thus made.

Various stakeholders such as the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), IOA, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, State Associations, petitioner Rahul Mehra, and the AIFF has submitted their suggestions. Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), a private entity also submitted its comments on specific portion of the Constitution concerning the role of private franchises in organizing football.

Observing that the issues that arose in finalizing the Constitution did not only pertain to legal points but also sports policy, CJI DY Chandrachud orally remarked:

“There is one part of our mind which says let us finish this here but when we hear this, we see very little law and more on sports policy and that is why Courts face flak for these issues- are we equipped to deal with all this? Should we not have a seasoned expert apply his mind to the case?”

Accordingly, the Court held that it would be prudent to let Justice Rao finalize the draft AIFF constitution who was also in charge of amending the Constitution of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

Senior Advocate Sankaranarayanan suggested that the objections which are in the breach of any judgement of the Court or the National Sports Code should not be accepted. He also highlighted that the role of athletes, who form backbone of the sport, should also be protected. It was necessary that the independence of the AIFF was preserved without undue interference from outside, he argued.

He also urged that it was necessary that the independence of the AIFF was preserved without undue interference from outside. He further expressed that it was necessary for the Constitution to comply with the statutes of FIFA and the Olympic Charter.

The CJI DY Chandrachud orally ordered, “Ordinarily, we would have considered the draft constitution. However, we are of the view that it would be appropriate to defer the above exercise as many objections addressed by stakeholders are not just on the issue of law but also on the issue of policy, including proper modalities of running the sport of football in the country.”

A similar exercise was being carried out in relation to the IOA and there existed certain overlap in the present case with the case of IOA Constitution, the Court discerned.

“We request Justice Nageswara Rao to take up the task of considering the draft constitution as proposed by the Administrators. In preparing and finalizing his report, Justice Nageswara Rao is requested to hear all the stakeholders. The exercise of considering the draft constitution and submitting a comprehensive report be carried out by 31st July 2023. In the event it becomes necessary to seek procedural directions, Justice Nageswara Rao may do so by submitting a request which may be rooted by amicus before this Court,” the bench directed.

The Court clarified that the fees and expenses payable to Justice Nageswara Rao shall be borne by the AIFF and directed the AIFF to make an initial deposit of Rs. 25 Lakh to Justice Rao.

Lastly, while concluding the bench observed that the pendency of these proceedings would not operate as a stay for hearing before High Courts for any other sports body.