Alleging violation of several provisions of the National Sports Development Code, former top-ranked India men’s tennis singles star Somdev Devvarman and Davis Cup specialist Purav Raja have filed a petition against All India Tennis Association (AITA) in the Delhi High Court. The duo wants a stay on the upcoming AITA elections slated to be held on September 28 till the time the tennis governing authority becomes fully compliant with the sports code.
The petition filed by Devvarman and Raja claims that AITA, who is a signatory of the sports code, has failed to provide any seats for athletes in its central council or general assembly and it lacks a mechanism to “elect eminent sportspersons of outstanding merit”.
Additionally, there’s no reservation of seats for athletes in the Executive Committee and lack of mechanism whereby athletes are elected from the Central Council / General Assembly to the Executive Committee.
“It is submitted that it is essential that AITA as well as its constituents must comply with the Sports Code and the Ministry ought to be directed to ensure that AITA and its constituents are fully compliant with the requirements of the Sports Code as a condition for continued recognition only thereafter fresh elections may be directed to be held in fair transparent and democratic manner,” The Tribune quoted the petition as saying.
The two players have also alleged that the Sports Ministry has never made efforts “to ascertain if AITA is in compliance with the Sports Code” and “turned a blind eye to multiple patent violations.”
Devvarman is an Asiad men’s singles and doubles gold medallist besides winning the yellow metal the Commonwealth Games in 2010. For his achievements, he was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2011 and in 2018, was bestowed with Padma Shri.
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