Delhi HC junks PIL challenging BCCI cricket team being called ‘Team India’

New Delhi, Oct 8 The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the “arbitrary and misleading portrayal” of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as the official “Indian National Cricket Team” by government-owned broadcasters Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIR).

“Are you saying that the team does not represent India? The team which is going and playing everywhere, they are misrepresenting? Forget about BCCI. If Doordarshan or any other authority projects it as team India, is it not team India?” a Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela questioned the PIL litigant.

“Are you aware of the rules of the IOC [International Olympic Committee]? Are you aware of the Olympic charter? Olympic movement? Are you aware that in the past, wherever there has been government intervention in sports, the IOC has come down heavily," added CJ Upadhyaya-led Bench, further remarking that the plea was a “sheer wastage of time”.

Asking advocate Reepak Kansal to “file better PILs”, the Delhi High Court proceeded to dismiss the matter.

The plea sought directions against Prasar Bharati, a statutory body that operates Doordarshan and All India Radio, for continuing to refer to the privately-run BCCI team as the national team.

It pointed out that the BCCI is a private society registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975, and not a statutory body or a “State” within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution.

Furthermore, the petitioner relied on RTI replies from the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, which clarified that the BCCI is neither recognised as a National Sports Federation (NSF) nor is cricket included in the list of sports eligible for government funding.

BCCI has also not been declared a “public authority” under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005. Despite the above legal position, the PIL stated that Prasar Bharati continues to use national symbols and terminology while referring to BCCI’s cricket team.

“Prasar Bharati platforms such as Doordarshan and All India Radio continue to refer to the BCCI team as ‘Team India’ or the ‘Indian National Team’, with the Indian National Flag in the cricket tournament of BCCI and implicitly confer national status on a private association, thereby creating a false impression in the public mind and granting unwarranted commercial legitimacy to a private entity,” the plea said.

The petitioner contended that this practice violates the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and the Flag Code of India, 2002, both of which regulate the use of national names, flags, and symbols.

“The misuse of the national name and flag by these public broadcasters not only misleads the citizens of India but also erodes the sanctity of national identity and symbols, which should be protected as a matter of constitutional propriety and public trust,” the petition read.

It also highlighted that this portrayal has commercial implications, saying: “The said false representation by the respondents has been helping a private association to earn profit in the name of country. When government-owned broadcasters like Doordarshan and All India Radio project the BCCI team as the ‘Indian National Team,’ it creates the false impression that BCCI has official or governmental status”.

The PIL sought directions to restrain public broadcasters from using national names and symbols in association with BCCI unless the government grants formal recognition through statutory means.

“This writ petition is being filed to ensure that national names, symbols and the Indian National Flag are not misused or associated with private commercial entities like the BCCI without proper statutory authority or recognition,” the plea stated, emphasising the need to “safeguard public trust and prevent citizens of India from being misled into believing that the BCCI officially represents the country as the ‘Indian National Cricket Team’.”

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