Equestrian Federation of India will have, hopefully, realised that it does not pay to do as it pleases. On Monday, the Delhi High Court placed a wedge as a stopper to bring EFI’s revolving door to a stop. It is this amazing device that has seen a high turnover of its presidents, not one of them completing a four-year term.
In continuing to secure annual recognition from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, EFI may have convinced it to turn a blind eye to its blatant violation of the National Sports Development Code of India, but the Delhi High Court served it a reminder that EFI cannot have its way, particularly in its unwritten revolving door policy as far as top positions go.
Justice Naveen Chawla issued an order restraining Lt. Gen. SS Mishra and Lt. Gen. MKS Yadav from acting as interim President and Vice-President respectively until the next hearing, schedule for September 24 next. They were only recently nominated to these positions upon taking charge as Quartermaster General and Director-General, Supplies & Transport in the Indian army.
Over a number of years, EFI, ostensibly a registered society (Regn. No.3379 of 1967-1968 dated 13-07-1967, Delhi), has treated three leading positions in its set-up as ex-officio position for the serving Quartermaster General, Director-General, Supplies & Transport and Director-General, Remount Veterinary Corps.
Not surprisingly, the petitioner raised the issue of such new nominated appointments with the Court-appointed observer SY Quraishi but to no avail. With his experience as former Chief Election Commissioner and former Secretary, Sports, in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, as well as dealing with Courts, he should have warned EFI against making such appointments.
It is utterly disappointing that the Court-appointed observer would not advise the EFI executive against going ahead with nominated-appointments, especially to the President’s position. He should have known that the High Court had not stopped EFI from holding its elections for some positions last year but had ordered that the results could not be notified without Court approval.
The Court order also reveals that the Ministry’s counsel and his Indian Olympic Association counterpart drew the Court’s attention to another case before the Division Bench of the Court. Given the Ministry has ignored EFI’s transgressions of the Code, this move raised eyebrows, particularly since it did not deem it fit to draw Justice Chawla’s attention to that case earlier.
EFI has nearly always managed to ‘smartly’ split elections of its office-bearers and executive committee in such a way that few will remember the last time when elections to all positions were notified for the same annual general meeting. While other National Sports Federations call for elections once in four years, EFI loves to have some election or other in each annual meeting.
It does not seem to matter to EFI that some of its presidents have spent only a few months in the leadership position. To the Quartermasters General as well, it does not come across as a concern that they would have to demit the EFI President’s post the day they retire from the army. Do they really care for equestrian sport?
The Court order on Monday gives rise to hope that someday soon, EFI’s hollow claim of governing a peculiar sport – ostensibly because it needs two athletes, a horse and a rider – to be a club-based federation rather than have State Associations running it. It is hard to figure out why army officials cannot come through State Associations instead of securing individual memberships.
The day may not be far when the EFI’s electoral roll is cleansed to follow the election guidelines that are a part of the National Sports Development Code of India 2011. For far too long, individuals, clubs and army units have formed the EFI electoral roll, leaving the State Associations in a miniscule minority.
Some earlier pieces:
State assn s have been the last priority so much so some have discontinued their membership with the EFi and their officals have stopped attending the Efi Agm as they felt they would not be encouraged or even be heard during the meeting . THERE HAS HARDLY BEEN A MEETING BETWEEN THE STATE ASSNS AND THE NATIONAL FEDERATION SINCE 2010