Supreme Court stays Delhi HC's decision to cancel N Ramachandran's Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar award
In some impactful news coming in from the world of squash, the Supreme Court of India has stayed the Delhi High Court’s decision to cancel the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar that was given to the present chief of the World Squash Federation (WSF) and the Indian Olympic Association N Ramachandran in 2011. The apex body has also stayed the Delhi HC’s directive to change the constitution of the panel that picks the candidate for the prestigious award.
The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar award, which was instituted in the year 2009 to “encourage and promote involvement of corporates, voluntary organizations, sports control boards etc., in the promotion and development of sports in the country,” was given to Mr. Ramachandran in 2011 for his work as a patron of the Squash Rackets Federation of India.
However, on 31st August this year, the Indian sports ministry was directed by the Delhi HC to revoke that award in response to a PIL filed by former squash players which challenged Mr. Ramachandran’s eligibility for it. In its order the Delhi HC also instructed the ministry to go back to the original composition of the selection committee for the award, which would necessitate the presence of eminent sportspersons in the committee.
Mr. Ramachandran has been in the firing line in recent times, with the Professional Squash Association (PSA) asking for his resignation as the President of the WSF at the recently concluded Annual General Meeting in Nice, France. The WSF’s bid to include squash in the Olympics, which didn’t find favour with the International Olympic Committee, has prompted some quarters to blame the President for the failure of the bid.
However, Mr. Ramachandran has hit back at his critics vocally, emphasizing that he did everything in his power to make the bid successful. This decision of the Supreme Court will now help the President’s cause too, as it questions the credibility of his critics.
There have also been some rumours floating around about the PSA looking to take over from the WSF as the primary representative of the sport in all global meetings.