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What's the story?
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra made headlines today after what he asked eminent lawyer and sports activist Rahul Mehra during the court proceedings of the ongoing case regarding the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its alleged lack of proper procedure in organising elections, was revealed.
The Hon'ble CJI directed a question at Rahul Mehra, who claimed to have seven years of experience in handling Indian football which left the lawyer surprised to say the very least.
In case you didn't know...
The current case in question was regarding the legality of the election that saw former AIFF president Praful Patel acquire a third consecutive term, and whether the guidelines set by the National Sports Code were followed or not. However, the nature of the question that was posed to Mehra was comical, to say the least.
The heart of the matter
While the case continues to be pending in the Apex Court, CJI Dipak Misra's handling of the case underlines that football still continues to face its struggles in establishing itself as a major sport in the country.
The seriousness of the situation has been compounded after it was learnt that if a proper democratic form of election to the body in India was not fulfilled, the AIFF could be de-recognised by FIFA. Rahul Mehra himself, through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), had brought the concern of lack of transparency in elections to light in 2009.
What's next?
Lack of knowledge when it comes to a right back is the least of the worries as far as Indian football is concerned as they look forward to the new season of the ISL beginning next week.
Author's take
The question raised by the CJI shows that there is still a big gap between cricket and rest of Indian sports and that issue needs to be resolved at the earliest.
