Delhi HC holds Hockey India, Secretary General guilty of contempt

New Delhi, April 21 The Delhi High Court on Tuesday held Hockey India and its Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh guilty of contempt of court for willfully disobeying its directions to provide virtual links to an elected office-bearer for participation in Executive Board meetings.

A single-judge bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav found that the non-supply of meeting links to petitioner Syeed Asima Ali on two occasions -- July 4 and July 27, 2025 -- amounted to deliberate and contumacious non-compliance of its January 17, 2025 order.

The Delhi High Court was dealing with a contempt plea alleging violation of its earlier direction requiring Hockey India to provide the petitioner, an elected Vice President, requisite links to attend all Executive Board meetings.

“The Said Orders required the respondents to provide the petitioner with the requisite links to enable her to participate in all Executive Board Meetings that may be held," it noted.

Rejecting the defence taken by Hockey India, the Delhi High Court held that subsequent developments, including the petitioner's alleged disqualification or cessation as a representative of Hockey Jammu and Kashmir, could not justify non-compliance of a subsisting judicial order.

"The directions are clear, unambiguous, and not susceptible to the kind of mischief the respondents are seeking to engage in," Justice Kaurav said, adding that parties cannot "interpret, read in, read down, and even overrule" court orders on their own.

The Delhi High Court came down heavily on the stand taken by the respondents that the petitioner ceased to be entitled to participate in meetings after her parent unit was disaffiliated, saying that no such qualification existed in its earlier order.

"It is unfathomable to imagine parties being allowed to decide as to till when directions or orders of the Court are to be complied with," Justice Kaurav said.

The judge also took note of the sequence of events surrounding the petitioner's alleged removal, indicating that there appeared to be a "concerted design" to circumvent judicial directions.

"Prima facie, the aforenoted actions... are indicative of a concerted design on the part of the respondents and others to surreptitiously circumvent the direction passed by the Court," the Delhi High Court said, adding that "something is seriously rotten in the Hockey India Federation".

On the apology tendered by Bhola Nath Singh, Justice Kaurav refused to accept it, terming it inadequate and belated.

"An unconditional apology... cannot purify the respondents, specifically Mr. Bhola Nath Singh, of his conscious, concerted, deliberate and willful disobedience," the judge remarked.

The Delhi High Court also said that the apology affidavit suffered from procedural defects and that even the oral apology did not reflect genuine remorse.

Holding that the conduct of the respondents undermined the "majesty of the Court" and the rule of law, the Delhi High Court concluded that the disobedience was willful within the meaning of civil contempt.

"This Court finds the respondents, and specifically Mr. Bhola Nath Singh, Secretary General of Hockey India, guilty of committing contempt of Court," the order said.

The matter has been posted for May 4 to hear the parties on the question of sentence, while granting liberty to the respondents to purge the contempt.

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