Not Having Birth Certificate Due To Socio-Economic Backwardness No Ground To Deny Participation In Sport Events: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has observed that not having a birth certificate evidencing age of an individual due to socio-economic backwardness is no ground to deny the opportunity to compete or participate in sport events. “This Court cannot be oblivious of the fact that on account of socio- economic backwardness, it may not have been feasible in some cases, to obtain the birth certificates/other documents evidencing the age of the person within certain years from the date of birth. However, merely for this reason such persons cannot be denied the opportunity of competing in sporting events,” Justice Sachin Datta said. The Court was dealing with two pleas filed by various individuals challenging the conditions stipulated by Basketball Federation of India whereby its affiliated units were intimated about the 74th Junior National Basketball Championship which were held in May 2024. The condition asked the players to bring Original Birth certificates issued by the Municipal Corporation or Registrar of Birth & Death obtained in the year of their birth or within 5 years of their birth as well as their Aadhar card. It was the petitioners' case that the said condition was wholly illegal and arbitrary as it deprived them of a level playing field or opportunity to compete or participate in basketball sporting events despite being otherwise eligible.They submitted that they were being unfairly deprived of the opportunity to participate solely due to the lack of access to proper documents verifying their age, which was on account of their' backward or socio-economic conditions.Allowing the pleas, Justice Datta noted that the National Code against Age Fraud in Sports clearly sets out in detail the procedure of medical and scientific testing parameters. The Court said there was to suggest that the said medical test parameters were not efficacious for the purpose of determining the age of the player.“There is also no rationale for disregarding specific provisions in the National Code against Age Fraud in Sports which contemplates medical test/s to be performed for the purpose of fulfilment/verification of the age criteria. As brought out in the short affidavit filed by the respondent no.1 (BFI), the National Code against Age Fraud in Sports is binding not only on the respondent no.1 but also on other sporting federations in the country,” the Court said. It set aside the impugned condition and directed Basketball Federation of India to adhere to provisions of the National Code against Age Fraud in Sports.Counsel for Petitioners: Mr. Amartya Bhushan and Mr. Yojit Mehra, AdvocatesCounsel for Respondents: Mr. T. Mahendhran, Advocate for R1Title: DEEPAK JAIN & ORS v. BASKETBALL FEDERATION OF INDIA & ORSCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 135Click here to read order

Not Having Birth Certificate Due To Socio-Economic Backwardness No Ground To Deny Participation In Sport Events: Delhi High Court

Nupur Thapliyal

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