HC notice to Boxing India over Sarita Devi’s ban

New Delhi, Dec 24:

The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued notice to Boxing India on a PIL seeking directions to file an appeal against the International Boxing Association (AIBA) ban on boxer L. Sarita Devi.

A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice P.S. Teji asked Boxing India (BI) to file its response on the issue of not appealing against the AIBA decision that banned Sarita Devi for a year for refusing to accept her 2014 Asian Games bronze medal.

The court sought BI response by Jan 5, 2015, on the reopening of court after winter vacation. The last date to file an appeal against AIBA decision is Jan 17.

Sarita, who had refused to accept the medal to protest her controversial semifinal bout loss, has been banned retrospectively from Oct 1, 2014 to Oct 1, 2015 and fined 1000 swiss francs.

The court also asked the sports ministry to produce all the relevant rules and regulations in this regard. “We issue notice to Boxing India. We would like to know its stand,” the bench said.

Advocate Monica Arora appearing for the central government told the court that the ministry had wrote to AIBA and requested it to take a lenient view considering of her humble background and controversy-free image to spare her a career-ending ban.

The court was hearing a plea challenging AIBA’s decision to suspend the boxer.

During the hearing, senior advocate Rajiv Dutta told the court that BI and the government are “killing a valuable talent by not appealing against the AIBA decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) situated in Lausanne for settling disputes”.

He further told the court that the boxer can not appeal against the decision in individual capacity. (IANS)