Bombay High Court Overturns Suspension of Jay Kowli from BFI

Key Takeaways

Jay Kowli's suspension by the BFI has been annulled.
The judgment emphasizes the importance of a personal hearing.
High Court's ruling addressed procedural fairness.
BFI's actions were deemed prejudicial without due process.
The bench rejected a request for a stay on the ruling.

Mumbai, Jan 29 (NationPress) The former secretary-general of the Boxing Federation of India, Jay Kowli, has announced that a division bench of the Bombay High Court has annulled his suspension imposed by the federation in 2021.

Kowli stated that the division bench, consisting of Justices Ms. Revati Mohite Dere and Ms. Neela Kedar Gokhale, has overturned the Boxing Federation of India's suspension order against him.

In their ruling, the Division Bench explicitly noted, “In the current case, where the sanction is of a penal nature and has open-ended implications for the Petitioner, we believe that a personal hearing should have been granted to the Petitioner,” Kowli mentioned in a statement on Wednesday.

“In accordance with established legal principles, we conclude that given the prejudicial effects of the debarment order against the Petitioner, a personal hearing should have been provided by the Respondent before any determination of the Petitioner’s guilt. Clause Z-A (3) stipulates this, and when the constitution mandates that a specific procedure must be followed, it must be adhered to, or not at all,” the bench asserted.

“In light of the aforementioned discussion, we have no doubt in quashing and dismissing the findings and recommendations of the Dispute & Disciplinary Commission dated January 8, 2022, the Resolution passed by the Executive Council during its meeting on January 10, 2022, regarding the suspension of the Petitioner, and the order dated January 20, 2020, barring the Petitioner from participating in any boxing activities within the Respondent No. 3 Federation and its affiliated units; these orders are thus nullified.”

Finally, the Bench remarked, “After the judgment was delivered, the learned counsel for Respondent No. 3 (BFI) requested a stay on today’s order. Given the findings recorded in this order, the request is denied.”

The BFI executive council suspended Kowli, who held the position of secretary-general from September 25, 2016, to February 2, 2021, citing misconduct and breach of its regulations following a disagreement with President Ajay Singh.