New Delhi, Dec 30 (LAB) The Delhi High Court permitted the Delhi gymnasts associated to participate in the upcoming Junior Gymnastic National Championship (Artistic) scheduled to be held in Kerala from December 30, 2022, to January 2, 2023, Team B.
Acting on the petition challenging the communication expelling the Delhi Gymnastics Association (DGA) from GFI, The Delhi High Court on December 28, issued notices to the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI), the Delhi Olympic Association (DOA) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in a
The Vacation Bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, while issuing notice to the respondents asked them to file their replies and posted the matter for March 16, 2023.
The petition was filed by the Delhi Gymnastics Association (DGA) challenging the notification issued by GFI on December 12, 2022, by way of which DGA was expelled from GFI and was deprived of the rights and privileges of affiliation to GFI including the right to participate in GFI events, which comprises sporting events pertaining to Gymnastics.
The petition was filed by Advocates Upender Thakur and Mohd. Akram, saying that as the Junior Gymnastic National Championship (Artistic) is scheduled to be held in Kerala from December 30, 2022, to January 2, 2023, and the career of budding gymnasts from Delhi is at stake, the petitioner association sent a letter to GFI on December 13, 2022, requesting the federation to keep the expulsion order in abeyance from the time the petitioner association invokes the remedy for seeking review till the decision of the review proceedings.
During the course of the hearing, Advocate Upender Thakur, representing the petitioner association, submitted that the communication issued by GFI is in the teeth of the sporting spirit and jeopardizes the sports of gymnastics in general and the morale or career of the budding gymnasts from Delhi in particular. Contending that the team was selected for the upcoming Junior National Gymnastics Artistic Competition to be held in Kerala just before the expulsion notice was issued, he prayed for permitting the gymnastic team already selected for participating and competing in the said event, in the interim.
At this juncture, the counsel representing GFI submitted that with a view to not prejudice any young athlete who has been selected, the federation is willing to accommodate a Team-B from the Delhi State if the petitioner association forwards the list of the selected team in the prescribed format within two hours, said athletes would be permitted to participate in the aforementioned event as Team-B from Delhi.
The Delhi High Court thus held, “In light of this submission, the Delhi gymnasts associated with the petitioner association are permitted to participate in the upcoming Championship as Team B.” The court, however, clarified that the participation of the team selected by the petitioner as Team-B would be without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the parties and only for the purposes of this Championship which is to commence from December 30, 2022, and shall not be treated as a precedent./LAB/SNG/