The Delhi High Court has established an ad hoc administrative committee (AAC) to manage the affairs of the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI). This committee is headed by former Delhi High Court judge, Justice Najmi Waziri. The appointment was made in the case of Rajasthan Equestrian Federation v Equestrian Federation of India and Others.
Justice Waziri will serve as the Chairperson of the Committee. The committee will also include former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Dr. SY Quraishi, as an observer, and advocate Rohini Musa as a member.
The EFI is the governing body responsible for equestrian sports in India.
In an order issued on May 21, Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju stated that the AAC would assume control of the daily administration and operations of the EFI. Once the AAC takes charge, the current office bearers will no longer have the authority to perform any functions.
“The AAC will have the power to issue all necessary directions for the day-to-day functioning of Respondent No. 1/EFI under the signatures of the Chairperson. The AAC is authorized to make suitable arrangements for the governance of Respondent No. 1/EFI until elections are held. The decisions of the Chairperson will be final and binding on Respondent No. 1/EFI,” the Court ordered.
The Court also directed the EFI to submit a report to the AAC within 10 days, detailing all decisions made by the federation’s former secretary general from September 29, 2023, to the present date.
“The AAC shall file its report within six weeks and thereafter as directed by the Court. This interim arrangement will continue until further orders from the Court,” the Court added.
These directives were issued while addressing a plea by the Rajasthan Equestrian Federation, which argued that the EFI was conducting elections contrary to the National Sports Development Code of 2011 by granting voting rights to clubs and institutions.
The Court-appointed observer reported deliberate efforts to prevent access to EFI records and numerous instances of maladministration within the Federation, highlighting a lack of transparency in its operations. The observer also noted that the EFI was not complying with the requirements of the Sports Code.
Justice Ganju determined that the current circumstances warranted the appointment of an administrative committee for the EFI as an interim measure. The Court emphasized that the EFI could not be left without any office bearers until the elections were held. However, given the situation within the federation, its functioning could not be entrusted to officials whose terms had expired and who were acting arbitrarily and against the Court’s directives.
“There is an urgent and immediate need to protect the interests of equestrian sports to prevent further deterioration in its affairs and to safeguard the larger public interest underlying the sport and the sportspersons dependent on it,” the Court stressed.
Senior Advocate Rajiv Dutta, along with advocates Ashish Kothari, Devang Gautam, Neha Singh, and Vishes Goel, represented the Rajasthan Equestrian Federation. Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta and advocates Kirtiman Singh and Manmeet Kaur Sareen represented the EFI.
Central Government Standing Counsels (CGSCs) Ajay Digpaul, Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, Vineet Dhanda, and advocates Srish Kumar Mishra, Sagar Mehlawat, Alexander Mithai Paikaday, M Sriram, and Krishana V appeared for 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.
