Bombay HC Directs Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Award Committee to Reconsider Inclusion of Athlete

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has instructed the Award Selection Committee of the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Award to deliberate on the representation submitted by Vijay Pardeshi, a Modern Pentathlon athlete. The aim is to determine his eligibility for the prestigious award for the year 2019-20.

Pardeshi filed a petition in the HC, asserting that his name was unjustly omitted from the award consideration list due to misplaced reasons.

Award ceremony scheduled for August 28

On August 23, a division bench composed of Justices Sunil Shukre and Firdosh Pooniwalla directed the Award Selection Committee, led by the Minister for Sports & Youth Services, to review Pardeshi's representation "in accordance with the law, considering the guidelines outlined in the Government Resolution dated December 14, 2022, and the available information, including the objections presented by Respondent No. 5 & 6..."

The bench urged the committee to reach a decision "as soon as possible and, in any case, prior to proceeding with the award distribution ceremony."

The award ceremony is scheduled for August 28.

On December 14, 2022, the government issued a resolution outlining the selection rules for awardees. These rules entail the formation of a committee to scrutinize applications, as well as an Award Selection Committee chaired by the Minister for Sports. The rules also include provisions for raising objections.

Objections raised by Pardeshi not considered by committee

On January 13, applications were invited for various sports awards, including Modern Pentathlon, for the years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22. Pardeshi submitted his nomination, which was endorsed by the Modern Pentathlon Association of Maharashtra. Nonetheless, his name was omitted from the list of awardees announced by the state on April 13. Notably, certain competitions were also excluded from consideration in the published list.

Pardeshi's advocate, Sanjay Kshirsagar, contended that the Respondents violated the rules. He highlighted that on March 28, Respondent 5 (Modern Pentathlon Association of Maharashtra) provided an explanation emphasizing Pardeshi's achievements that were disregarded for the award.

Due to the Minister of Sports' absence, the meeting of the Award Selection Committee was not convened. Consequently, a list of awardees was published on May 14 without considering the committee's objections.

Despite objections raised by Pardeshi and the State Sports Association, the list of award recipients was announced on July 14.

Thus, Pardeshi approached the HC, seeking the inclusion of his name in the list of awardees and requesting the inclusion of certain competitions that were overlooked in the prior process.