Sports Ministry grants conditional recognition to Judo Federation on India's interim body

New Delhi, Jul 14 (PTI) The Sports Ministry has granted conditional recognition to the interim body of the Judo Federation of India (JFI), which was elected last month following a Delhi High Court order, warning that "irregularities" in compliance with judicial directions would lead to its suspension. The JFI was governed by a court-appointed administrator since 2022, but in a ruling in February this year, the Delhi HC asked the body to conduct an Annual General Meeting and align itself with the provisions of the National Sports Governance Act that came into effect earlier this year. As a result, the body elected an interim Executive Committee, which is led by veteran sports administrator Mukesh Kumar with Banee Brata Das as Secretary General and Shailesh Tilak as Treasurer. "...it has been decided to grant recognition to the Executive Committee of the Judo Federation of India (Interim body) with immediate effect," the ministry notification stated. "The above government recognition is subject to the outcome of the ongoing court cases concerning elections to the EC of JFI pending in the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi/other Hon'ble High Courts...," it added. The Ministry said failure to ensure strict adherence of High Court directions would lead to revocation of the recognition. "In the event of any default and/or any gross irregularities on the part of interim body, the present conditional grant of recognition may be suspended/revoked." The Ministry has asked JFI to conduct elections of Final EC as directed by the court. "The interim body, JFI shall mandatorily amend its constitution to make it in consonance with the National Sports Governance Act, 2025 and rules framed there under within timelines stipulated in the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi's Order dated 12.02.2026," the Ministry added. It has also sought monthly reports from the JFI on the status of compliance with High Court directions. "The interim body, JFI shall submit monthly report to this Ministry concerning progress achieved in furtherance of compliance of directions of the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi. "The interim body, JFI shall at all times align its operations with the principles of transparency and accountability," it said. Besides the top three officials, the JFI also elected four vice presidents and four joint secretaries in the June elections. A notable office-bearer is former tennis player Manisha Malhotra, who has also been involved in sports management. Former Commonwealth Games medal-winning judokas L Sushila Devi, and Akram Shah were elected as Sportspersons of Merit (SOM) in the interim EC. The NSG Act caps the EC strength at 15 with at least two SOM and four women members. The EC will have a maximum of a four-year term and a person may continuously hold the position of either the President or the Secretary General or the Treasurer for upto three consecutive terms separately, or in combination. PTI PM PM PDS PDS