NEW DELHI: Calling the delay in holding its elections as “wilful and intentional”, the
sports ministry
on Saturday suspended the
Paralympic Committee of India
(PCI) – headed by
Deepa Malik
, the country’s first female para-athlete to win a medal at the Paralympics in Rio 2016 – citing violation of the national
sports code
and misgovernance.
The ministry has also informed the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the sport’s global governing body, about the derecognition of the PCI and formation of an ad-hoc body, composed of distinguished administrators and sportspersons.
The suspension means that Indian para-athletes will not be allowed to enter any IPC-sanctioned competition, including this year’s Paralympic Games in Paris, under the national flag.
The move was necessitated owing to the irregular practices in PCI. The para-athletes and coaches have supported the decision. In its suspension letter, the ministry listed three reasons for taking such a harsh step.
“…whereas taking note of the intentional delay by the PCI to elect a new executive committee, vis a vis the essentiality of upholding good governance and accountability standards in sports federations nationwide and the requirements of all the national sports federations, national Olympic Committee (NOC) and national Paralympic Committee (NPC) to adhere strictly to the sports code, the government is left with no choice but to suspend the recognition of PCI with immediate effect till further orders.
“Considering the fact that the PCI acts as an NPC as well as an NSF for a few disciplines, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) is hereby directed to coordinate with the IPC to form an ad-hoc committee comprising eminent administrators and sportspersons to undertake these tasks performed by PCI to safeguard the interests of the Indian para-sportspersons and the para-sports disciplines, who will oversee the operations of the PCI, and conduct free, fair and transparent elections as per the extant instructions under the sports code along with the constitution of the PCI,” the ministry wrote in its suspension order.
The last election of PCI was held in September 2019, but due to an order passed by the Delhi High Court staying the notification of election dated 03.09.2019, the returning officer was restrained from declaring the result of the elections. The court vide order dated 27.01.2020 allowed the declaration of results of the election notified on 03.09.2019 subject to the further orders to be passed in the said petition.
In pursuance of the above order, the returning officer declared the results of election on 31.01.2020 and thus the four-year term of the executive committee (EC) of the PCI ended on 31.01.2024.
In a letter to IPC, the ministry stated that the decision, though difficult, was made to “protect the integrity of the sports movement and to ensure the continued progress and development of para sports on India”.
“We recall with much appreciation the IPC’s invaluable support in 2015, allowing SAI to facilitate the participation of India para athletes at the Rio Paralympics 2016 during a similar suspension of the PCI. It is with hope and respect for our continued partnership that we seek the IPC’s support again. Your collaboration in the efforts, including the formation of the ad-hoc committee and ensuring our athletes’ participation in international events like the Paris Paralympics 2024, is crucial.”
English (US) ·