Football
AIFF President issues legal notice to former official over defamatory allegations
All India Football Federation President Kalyan Chaubey issues a legal notice to former official Gopalakrishna Kosaraju for false credit card misuse allegations.
FILE PHOTO: Kalyan Chaubey became the AIFF president in September 2022.
Kalyan Chaubey, the President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), has taken legal action against former Andhra Pradesh official Gopalakrishna Kosaraju. The AIFF president accuses Kosaraju of making "false, malicious, and defamatory allegations" concerning the misuse of AIFF credit cards for personal expenses.
Chaubey, through his lawyer Sudarshan Kumar Agarwal based in Kolkata, has given Kosaraju a seven-day ultimatum to issue a public apology or face legal consequences. The AIFF president has also asserted his right to seek compensation for damages resulting from the alleged false and defamatory statements.
The controversy ignited when Kosaraju, a former president of the Andhra Pradesh Football Association, sent an email to the AIFF executive committee members on January 29. In the email, he accused Chaubey of utilizing AIFF credit cards for personal purchases, specifically mentioning the acquisition of shoes.
Chaubey vehemently denied these accusations, describing them as a product of Kosaraju's "vindictive imagination." The legal notice, served by Agarwal, emphasized the significant harm caused to Chaubey's personal and professional reputation due to the dissemination of the defamatory email.
The notice further contends that the allegations are part of a larger scheme to gain political advantage and settle personal scores, stemming from Kosaraju's defeat against Chaubey's panel by a wide margin of 33-1 in the AIFF elections held in September 2022.
Chaubey, maintaining his innocence, stated that he has never misused any funds while fulfilling his duties as the AIFF president. He called on Kosaraju to cease further dissemination of the defamatory email and demanded a written public apology for inventing fictitious and malicious allegations.
The AIFF president insisted that the apology should be communicated through the same channels as the original defamatory communication to ensure it reaches the same audience. Failure to comply within seven days, as per the legal notice, will compel Chaubey to pursue legal remedies, both civil and criminal, available under the applicable laws.
