CJI Sanjiv Khanna recuses himself from hearing pleas on IOA and AIFF constitutions

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna on Monday recused himself from hearing two separate petitions related to the finalisation of the constitutions of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

Both constitutions were drafted under the supervision of former Supreme Court judge, Justice L. Nageswara Rao.

At the start of the proceedings, CJI Khanna, sitting alongside Justice Sanjay Kumar, informed the court that he would not be part of the bench for these cases due to his prior involvement with one of the pleas in the Delhi High Court.

"Let the pleas come before another bench headed by Justice PS Narasimha on February 10. I remember hearing this in Delhi High Court," he stated. 

The petitions were last heard on March 19, 2024, by a bench led by the then CJI DY Chandrachud. On that occasion, the bench allowed the AIFF to submit its objections to the draft constitution prepared by Justice Rao.

The court also urged the amicus curiae to update the chart of objections and circulate it to all concerned parties.

Regarding the AIFF constitution, the bench instructed the amicus curiae, Gopal Sankarnarayanan, to share the report prepared by Justice Rao with all parties interested in obtaining soft copies.

The court also asked for the filing of objections to the AIFF's draft constitution.

In a related development, the apex court had earlier extended the deadline for submitting objections to the draft constitution of the IOA.

It made clear, however, that the pendency of the IOA-related petitions would not prevent high courts from continuing with proceedings related to other sports bodies.

The draft constitution of the IOA was adopted during a special general body meeting in Delhi, even as several members contended they were pressured into doing so, as the adoption had been made mandatory by the Supreme Court.

The constitution was framed with oversight from both the Supreme Court and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). 

In addition to finalising the IOA constitution, the Supreme Court had urged Justice Rao to compile a comprehensive report on the AIFF constitution after considering objections raised by various stakeholders, including FIFA, the global governing body for football.

The court had acknowledged that the numerous objections to the draft could be addressed by Justice Rao, who had also been instrumental in finalising the IOA's constitution.

The top court had decided to hear the petitions concerning the constitutions of both the IOA and the AIFF together.