By IANS,
New Delhi : The Supreme Court Friday cleared the decks for Hockey India to send the Indian hockey team for the Sultan Azlan Shah cup tournament in Malaysia, starting May 5.
The apex court bench of Justice J.M. Panchal and Justice H.L. Gokhale cleared Hockey India to send its team to Malaysia after being told that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) recognised it (Hockey India).
The court order came in the course of the hearing of a petition by Hockey India challenging a Delhi High Court verdict by which it had upheld the central government’s position that the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) was the sole representative organisation for hockey in India.
While the court gave the central government two weeks’ time to state its stand on the dispute involving Hockey India and the IHF, it said that its Aug 27, 2010 order will continue to be in force. The order had allowed Hockey India to sponsor the national men’s and women’s teams for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games in China.
However, in the order, the court also said that Hockey India would take into account any suggestion made by the Indian Olympic Association.