Delhi High Court Holds Hockey India Officials Guilty Of Contempt For Disobeying Order On Executive Board Meeting Access
The Delhi High Court has held officials of Hockey India guilty of contempt for willfully disobeying its directions to provide a duly elected Executive Board member access to meetings.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav found that Hockey India and its Secretary General, Bhola Nath Singh, had failed to comply with an earlier order directing that the petitioner—an elected Vice President—be provided links to participate in all Executive Board meetings.
The contempt proceedings arose from allegations that despite a clear court direction dated January 17, 2025, the petitioner was denied access to meetings held on July 4 and July 27, 2025.
The respondents sought to justify their conduct by claiming that subsequent developments—particularly the petitioner's alleged disqualification following her parent unit's de-affiliation—rendered her ineligible to participate.
Rejecting this defence, the Court held that parties cannot unilaterally interpret or read conditions into judicial orders to avoid compliance.
“The respondents' delusions of grandeur seem to make them believe that they are sitting in appeal, or are authorities that have powers to interpret, read in, read down, and it appears even overrule the orders passed by this Court. Neither this Court, nor the one above us, made the Said Order ―subject to the Petitioner being a recognised representative of the affiliated member unit.‖ There is not even the faintest of mention, in the directions passed, of qualifications of such kind, that the respondents want to read into the Said Order. The directions are clear, unambiguous, and not susceptible to the kind of mischief the respondents are seeking to engage in,” the Court strongly remarked.
The Court said it is not known under which principle or authority known to the law, can a party, to whom orders have been given by a Court, interpret the said orders/directions and claim them to apply only insofar as certain features, qualifications, and aspects remain in existence.
“It is unfathomable to imagine parties being allowed to decide as to till when directions or orders of the Court are to be complied with. The sanctity of judicial orders may be left in tatters, and may as well be cast to the winds, if parties are allowed to tinker and obfuscate directions passed by the Court,” it said.
The Court added that parties cannot justify non-compliance of Court directions claiming to have misunderstood the said orders.
“If at all there is a genuine bona fide belief in the mind of a litigant/party that owing to subsequent developments, compliance of directions contained in a Court's order ought to be modified, the appropriate recourse is to file an appropriate action seeking clarification/modification of the order of the Court,” the Court clarified.
It also refused to accept the “belated” apology tendered by the Secretary General and held the respondents guilty of civil contempt.
The matter is listed for hearing on the question of sentence on May 04.
Appearance: Mr. D.N. Goburdhun, Sr. Adv. with Mr. Hemant Phalpher and Mr. Karishmit Keswani, Advocates for Petitioner; Mr. Rajiv Nayyar, Sr. Adv., Ms. Shyel Trehan, Sr. Adv. with Mr. Rohan Poddar, Mr. Raghav Anand, Mr. Nishikant Singh, Mr. Shubham Kathuria, Advocates for the respondent nos. 1-3
Case title: Syeed Asima Ali v. Hockey India & Ors.
Case no.: CONT.CAS(C) 1119/2025