Bombay High Court: In a writ petition filed seeking postponement of the 38th National Games since the Maharashtra State Aquatic Coordination Committee (‘MSACC’) was unable to send names for the Maharashtra Diving Team (Women), the Division Bench of Bharati Dangre and Ashwin D. Bhobe, JJ., dismissed the petition holding that it was not possible to postpone the entire event since it would affect other participants but suggested MSACC to seek an extension for sending names of swimmers from the Swimming Federation of India (‘SFI’) or the Games Technical Conduct Committee (‘GTCC’). However, it was the discretion of the GTCC to decide on the issue.
Background
The MSACC, appointed by SFI, conducted trials for the participation of swimmers in the 38th National Games as part of the Women’s Diving Team. The SFI was informed that there was an allegation that two of the trials were conducted in an unfair and biased manner. Due to this complaint, SFI directed MSACC that the entries for the diving team were set aside, and the final entries would have to be resubmitted after a fresh selection trial was conducted by neutral judges from outside the State.
Upon receipt of such direction, MSACC directed that retrial of the diving event be conducted with the participation of neutral, qualified Judges from the other States. However, even a week before the Swimming Event in the 38th National Games on 29-01-2025, MSACC was unable to find neutral judges, and as a result, retrials were not yet conducted.
Thus, the present writ petition was filed.
Analysis
The Court noted that it was unfortunate that the MSACC was unable to trace persons outside the State for conducting retrials, and petitioners 1, 3, and respondent 4 were likely to miss the event despite being part of the team in the first instance. However, the relief could not be granted since there would be participants from other states in the National Games, and in their absence, it was difficult to postpone the entire event.
The Court suggested the MSACC to request an extension for forwarding the names for the Maharashtra Women Diving Team to the SFI or the GTCC, under whose aegis the event was to be conducted, on account of the difficulty faced by them since the retrials were expected to be conducted soon.
The Court added that it was the discretion of GTCC to decide on the issue since it was not a party to the present proceedings. Furthermore, considering that the event was of national interest, the Court held that it was inappropriate to direct GTCC make a certain decision. However, GTCC was expected to adopt a sympathetic approach so that the swimmers from Maharashtra did not lose the opportunity to participate in the National Games.
Holding this, the Court dismissed the writ petition.
[Shravani Pratap Suryawanshi v. Union of India, Writ Petition No.769 of 2025, decided on 17-01-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the petitioners: G.N. Salunke, Rupesh Turbhekar, and Umesh Kurund
For the respondents: Jyoti Yadav, S.U. Bharucha, Tvishi Pant, Mukesh Pathak and Abhishek