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Top court dissolves CoA with eye on FIFA return
The Under-17 Women’s World Cup “must come to India”, the Supreme Court observed on Monday as it handed back the management of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) from a court-appointed committee of administrators (CoA) to AIFF’s administration led by an acting secretary general, hoping the game’s global governing body FIFA would now lift the country’s suspension.
The Under-17 Women’s World Cup “must come to India”, the Supreme Court observed on Monday as it handed back the management of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) from a court-appointed committee of administrators (CoA) to AIFF’s administration led by an acting secretary general, hoping the game’s global governing body FIFA would now lift the country’s suspension.
Dissolving the CoA, the top court reverted to the old election process, granting voting rights only to the 36 representatives of member associations representing the states and Union territories for electing the new 23-member executive council (EC) of AIFF.
“Certainty in holding the tournament is our topmost priority... the tournament must come to India... this order is to protect the pride of India... our players,” remarked the bench of justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and AS Bopanna, agreeing to modify the previous order.
By an order on August 3, the court sought to give voting rights to 36 players in addition to the 36 state association members, and said that the election should be conducted under the supervision of the CoA. But on August 15, AIFF received a communication intimating that the Bureau of FIFA Council was suspending AIFF from its membership. With the World Cup hosting rights in jeopardy, the Centre rushed to the court asking for modifications of the August 3 order and scrapping of the CoA, which it said was considered as “third party interference” by FIFA.
On Monday, the bench headed by justice Chandrachud accepted all the suggestions mooted by the central government to salvage the chances of the country hosting the tournament in October, and extended the timeline for electing the new EC by a week to streamline the process. It added that the returning officers appointed by the CoA shall henceforth be treated as officers appointed by the court to conduct the elections since the CoA’s mandate stands terminated.
“Time for the completion of the elections which were scheduled to take place on August 28, 2022 shall stand extended by a period of one week. The returning officers shall, within the said period, refix the modalities for the filing of nominations from the stage which was reached on August 13, 2022, and ensure that the elections are completed on schedule,” directed the bench.
The order added: “The day-to-day management of AIFF shall be exclusively looked after by AIFF administration led by the acting secretary general. The mandate of the CoA by the order of this court stands terminated.” AIFF currently has a secretary general, selected by 36 associate members of the sporting body. The 23-member EC of AIFF shall consist of 17 elected members and six (four men and two women) eminent players shall be nominated, the court said.
“The above directions have been issued in modification of the previous orders of this court to facilitate the revocation of the suspension which has been imposed on AIFF by FIFA and the holding of the Under-17 Women’s World Cup- 2022 in India,” highlighted the bench, adding the court would consider further orders if the election process is not taken to a logical end by the first week of September.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranaraynan, who was representing the CoA in the matter, was appointed as amicus curiae by the bench to assist it. The CoA comprised former Supreme Court judge Anil R Dave, former chief election commissioner SY Quraishi and former captain of the Indian football team Bhaskar Ganguly.
The court recorded its appreciation for the work done by the CoA and said that the discussion on the draft constitution submitted by them shall be taken up for hearing at a later date.
“We are looking at two things. That the tournament should take place. And second, when we intervene, the court is dubbed as a third party... We made a bipartisan effort. We took everybody on board. We become the ones to be attacked, that we are responsible for the tournament not happening here. Be it the CoA or us, we tried our best,” remarked the bench during Monday’s proceedings.
Earlier, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, underlined FIFA’s concerns that basically revolved around AIFF’s management by CoA and voting rights to the players besides the state associations. He said that the consequences of suspension would be “disastrous” not only because India would lose the hosting right but also because its players would not be able to participate in any international event. Mehta said that CoA should cease to function immediately and that the secretary general can administer AIFF until the new EC is elected.
Sankaranarayanan argued that CoA is not at all interested in clinging onto the sporting body but that its views are that losing the right to hold one tournament should not become the reason for delaying the reforms in AIFF. “This court constituted the CoA, which is effectively an extension of the court. To call it a third-party interference means this court has interfered. That’s the tone and tenor of all the communications from FIFA. CoA’s views are that the court must not cave in to any pressure and players must be included in the electoral college,” he argued.
Advocate Raghenth Basant, representing former Indian football team captain Bhaichung Bhutia, who is also contesting for the post of president in AIFF, also shared the same opinion. “The orders of this court to have players in the governing body must be complied with... I do understand national pride but I would rather have an Indian team which is capable of qualifying on its own after some time instead of letting all the ills continue just for the sake of one tournament,” contended Basant.
Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, who first brought the illegal running of AIFF to the notice of the Delhi high court leading to the case before the top court, cautioned the bench against agreeing to FIFA’s terms. “If we go down this path, this will be taken as a precedent for all other bodies where the courts have found themselves constrained to set up CoAs,” he said.
The court, however, remained unequivocal that it must prioritise the hosting rights for the World Cup at the moment and that the rest of the issues can be taken care of in the future.
During the hearing, CoA also informed the bench that it initiated a forensic audit into financial transactions of AIFF during the regime when Praful Patel was the president, and the prima facie findings suggested siphoning of funds.
The court said that the final audit report should be handed over to the government for suitable action.
Senior counsel Kapil Sibal appeared for Patel, arguing that he is not interested in any post in AIFF and that he is supporting early elections for the body.
The CoA, however, urged the bench to issue a show-cause notice of contempt against Patel for allegedly misusing his position as FIFA Council member to undermine the orders passed by the court and putting the hosting rights in peril. The bench said it would consider the contempt plea on a future date.
