The Equestrian Federation of India has been losing ground, both literally and figuratively. It would appear to have only delayed the inevitable when its own counsel reported indisposed on Tuesday and requested the Delhi High Court for an adjournment of the hearing on the Writ Petition.
For a bunch that has been praying the Court to allow it to conduct elections and has been pressing for early hearing of the Writ Petition filed against it by the Rajasthan Equestrian Association, EFI officials will have to wait till October 21, the date of the next hearing, to discover what is in store for them.
On August 13, High Court had directed the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to say why fresh elections should not be directed so that the impasse in EFI could end. It is being said that the Ministry was inclined to tell the Court that any elections should be held in consonance with the guidelines issued with the National Sports Development Code of India 2011.
Rajasthan Equestrian Association President Kanwar Raghuvendra Singh Dundlod, who filed the Writ Petition in September 2019, is hopeful that the Court will heed his prayer for an election to be conducted under the provisions of the National Sports Code.
“We have not been opposing the idea of the elections but been praying that the EFI Electoral College comprise only Equestrian Associations of each State and Union Territory rather than army units and individuals,” Dundlod said. “Even the Delhi High Court-appointed Observer’s report has highlighted the poor governance of the sport.”
Dundlod revealed that he had written to the highest powers, highlighting how some officials were spoiling the Army’s image with their desperation to cling to their chairs without following the rules of fair play laid down for governance of sport. “I am confident the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Army Staff will order EFI officials to comply with the Code,” he said.
For many years, the Ministry has been going easy on the Equestrian Federation of India as far as the compliance with the Code was concerned. At least on a couple of occasions, it asked EFI to present a roadmap for Code compliance but EFI always renehed after promising the Ministry that it would submit a plan to fall in line with the National Sports Code.
On another front, the sands of time are running out for EFI as its recognition by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports’ recognition is due to lapse on November 25. In renewing EFI’s recognition on November 26 last, the Ministry had asked the Federation to bring its Constitution and governance in line with the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011.
EFI’s requests on February 24 and October 31 last year seeking exemption or relaxation of some provisions of the National Sports Code found no resonance with the Ministry. “The Federation is required to make categorical affirmation of the provisions of the Sports Code in its Constitution so as to bring the same fully in line with the Sports Code,” the Ministry wrote.
Instead of embracing good governance practices and letting the sport build on the gains made by Fouaad Mirza in the Asian Games and the Olympic Games, EFI officials have been mulishly adamant in refusing to acknowledge the provisions of the National Sports Development Code of India 2011.
Just about everyone who has the remotest scope to be upset with EFI is more than merely upset. A host of riders have already picked cudgels against the administration. A private sponsor, who bankrolled Fouaad Mirza, chose to stay away from the EFI Executive. At least two members of the Executive Committee cited poor governance in quitting their positions.
The Indian Olympic Association downgraded EFI from a full, voting member to an associate member with no voting rights. What’s more, EFI officials managed to rub the Delhi High Court-appointed Observer on the wrong side, forcing him to file an anguished report which asked for EFI to be run by an Administrator.
Worse, the Army recently asked EFI to vacate its office from the defence land that it has been occupying since 2012 without any authorisation. For an organisation run by officials from the Army, things could not get any worse than being told to move its office away from defence land that it had used without paying a penny.
