The Delhi High Court has suspended the Table Tennis Federation of India and decided to set up an enquiry committee to look into its day-to-day functioning.
A single-judge bench of Justice Rekha Palli, which was hearing Manika Batra’s petition, observed the report of the three-member committee, which showed that TTFI safeguarded the interests of its officials.
The Additional Solicitor General informed the Bench that due to allegations regarding the misconduct of TTFI, the Sports Authority could take action against TTFI in terms of the National Sports Code.
The Court said the federation must have an administrator appointed in a week and also found national coach Soumyadeep Roy indulging in match-fixing during the Olympic qualifiers in March.
The judge further said this country takes pride in its sportspersons and people who don’t understand how players are to be treated “should be out”. The matter will next be heard on April 13.
India’s star paddler Manika Batra had filed a case in September last year accusing Roy of asking her to lose a match so that his student Sitirtha Mukherjee qualifies for the Summer Games.
The CWG gold medallist had also accused Roy of match fixing during the Olympic qualifiers in Doha in March 2021. During the previous hearings, the court deferred the decision to appoint an administrator.
On November 17, the Court appointed the committee to look into the matter of TTFI’s handling of the match-fixing allegations made by Manika Batra.