New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday set aside the Sports Ministry’s recognition of Yogasana Bharat as the National Sport Federation for Yogasana, saying the federation did not satisfy the “mandatory eligibility criteria” under the Sports Code.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in favour of Yogasana Bharat as the National Sports Federation for the sport of Yogasana. (Yogasana Bharat)

The High Court in its order said, “the recognition letter dated 27.11.2020 issued by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in favour of Yogasana Bharat as the National Sports Federation for the sport of Yogasana and the speaking order dated 19.10.2021 passed pursuant to the directions of this Court are hereby quashed and set aside.”

The court said that at the time of recognition, on 27 November 2020, the federation had existed for only about three months, whereas the Sports Code required three years of active existence. It also had no affiliated State/UT units, although such affiliations were a mandatory precondition under the Sports Code and it had not conducted the required National Championships for the prescribed period before recognition.

“Annexure II of the Sports Code prescribes the eligibility criteria for recognition of a National Sports Federation. The criteria directly applicable to this case are Clauses 3.3, 3.4, and 3.8,. Clause 3.3 mandates three years of active existence. Yogasana Bharat was registered on 21.08.2020. The recognition letter is dated 27.11.2020. The body had existed for approximately three months. The shortfall is thirty-three months, not a marginal technical deficit but a yawning chasm between the requirement and the body’s reality,” said the Delhi High Court.

On holding national championships, the court said “Clause 3.8 dictates the requirement of three consecutive National Championships at Senior, Junior, and Sub-Junior levels for both men and women for three years preceding the year of recognition: Yogasana Bharat had conducted no National Championship of any kind before it was recognised. The deficit is total.”

The Sports Code requires a federation to have affiliated units in at least two-thirds of States and Union Territories “Yogasana Bharat had no State or Union Territory affiliations on the date of recognition.”

The petition was filed by the Yoga Federation of India, which claims to have been established in 1974, fulfils the criteria of an NSF, and also applied for recognition from the Sports Ministry on December 2019.

The court said the petitioner ‘Yoga Federation of India’ is not declared to be the National Sports Federation for the sport.

“That determination lies exclusively within the domain of the Sports Ministry and shall be made in the fresh recognition exercise conducted in accordance with this order.”

The court directed the Sports Ministry to invite fresh applications within 60 days from eligible bodies for recognition of the sport of Yoga/Yogasana as a NSF. The recognition exercise shall be completed with due expedition in accordance with law,” said Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav in his order.