3 min readJammuApr 9, 2026 06:55 AM IST
The Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh High Court Wednesday directed the Secretary, J&K Sports Council, to file a comprehensive affidavit in a public interest litigation alleging violations of the mandatory provisions of the Sport Code of India, 2011.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal directed advocate Anshuja Tak to place the Secretary’s affidavit on record before the next hearing on April 21. The direction came after Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed, along with advocates Supriya Choudhan and M. Zulkarnain Chowdhary, drew the court’s attention to alleged violations of various provisions of the Sport Code, 2011, framed by Parliament.
The last elections of the J&K Badminton Association were held on March 6, 2022, Advocate Ahmed said, adding that the Divisional Sports Officer, Jammu—appointed as Observer by the Sports Council—submitted a report on April 21, 2022 noting there was neither a ballot box to cast votes nor records relating to age and tenure of office-bearers, non-affiliation with other associations, or non-political affiliation certificates. No-objection certificates from concerned departments were also not made available to justify the election proceedings. Some elected office-bearers were found to be active members of political parties, he pointed out.
However, the Secretary, Sports Council, remained silent despite the Observer’s report and did not act against office-bearers who had incurred disqualifications under the Sports Code, 2011, Ahmed said.
Following a court notice in the PIL on September 8 last year, the president and general secretary of the Badminton Association—Chander Prakash Sharma (Ganga) and B S Jamwal—tendered their resignations in light of the age limit under the Sport Code. Both were above 70 years; Ganga is a former cabinet minister and sitting BJP MLA from Vijaypur, he added, noting that their resignations were accepted by the Association’s executive committee at its November 9 meeting.
Alleging that a particular group has “hijacked” the Badminton Association in J&K, Ahmed also referred to an affidavit filed by its chairman, Dr O D Sharma, aged 80. The vice chairman, Dr Satish Chander, has also crossed 70 years, he said.
At this, the Division Bench, headed by Chief Justice Arun Palli, expressed “deep anguish” in open court over the ex facie violations and non-compliance of the Sports Code, 2011 by the J&K Badminton Association and, prima facie, the silence of the Sports Council.
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Ahmed further submitted that the new general secretary, Raju Sharma, is a government employee. However, under the Sports Code, 2011, read with SRO 164 of 1980 and a February 10 circular, no government employee shall hold or continue to hold office in any sports association in J&K or a national sports federation without prior government permission.
Similarly, Rahul Sharma, Assistant General Manager, RBI, Guwahati, was elected joint secretary in violation of SRO 164 of 1980, he added.
Advocate Anshuja Tak, appearing for the Sports Council, submitted that the Council is committed to implementing the Sports Code, 2011 and has supervised or conducted elections of 34 sports associations in J&K in accordance with it. She said the issues raised would be addressed through a comprehensive affidavit by the Secretary, J&K Sports Council.
