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CRIMINAL LIABILITY IN SPORTS IN

INDIA
- ADARSH HIMATSINGHKA
INTRODUCTION

“The area of sports law is relatively new in our country. Sports law is based on how
the law in general interacts with the sports activity. Different from the theoretical
laws, it is a pure law. Sports law is not only an applied law in the field of sports but
also a blend of laws in a number of jurisdictions. Sports law is based on how the law
in general interacts with the sports activity. Different from theoretical laws, it is a
pure law. Sports law is not only an applied law in the field of sports, physical
education and its related field(s); but also, a blend of laws in a number of
jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions have passed separate legislation relating to sports.
For example, in India sports information is in the Concurrent list of the Seventh
Schedule (entry 33) of the Constitution on which both the union and state
legislatures are proficient to put together laws. There are 3 States; Rajasthan,
Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, which have enacted laws on regulating sports
activity including registration, regulation and recognition of Sports Associations
(Uttar Pradesh has since repealed the Act).

There is no single universally accepted definition of the term ‘sport’. Defining the
term has proved to be perhaps as difficult as excelling in any particular sport. But
the term has, over the years, acquired various definitions — some restrictive, some
wide and some illustrative. The term ‘sport’ derives its origin from a French
determined Middle English verb ‘sporten’, literally meaning ‘to divert’, and also the
Latin term ‘desport’, which means ‘to carry away’. ‘Basically sport, like religion,
defies definition. In a manner, it goes beyond definitive terminology. Neither has
the substance, which can be identified. In a sense, both sport and religion are
beyond essence.’

In order to define a paradigm of sports law, the first step to be undertaken is to carve
out an explicit definition of sports. Several attempts have been made to arrive at a
precise definition of sports covering all its aspects. The British Sports Council has
made useful contribution to the debate by identifying certain prerequisites which
might help in arriving at a comprehensive
definition of ‘sport’. The Council has listed the following prerequisites:

1. Physical skills
2. Physical effort

3. Accessibility

4. Strategy and tactics

5. Essential purpose

6. Physical challenge

7. Risk

8. Uniqueness

9. Political, moral or other ethical considerations1

Violence in the arena of sports is a reality today, just as it has been throughout
history. From verbal to physical and crude acts of aggression giving vent to a
hostile 'win-at-all-costs' mentality, viewers around the world have witnessed
countless antics of sportspersons. In the ancient Roman gladiatorial games, brutality
and bloodshed were characteristic features of the sport itself, perhaps reflective of
the various attitudes prevailing in the society of those times. In popular sports such
as soccer, hockey, rugby and boxing, violence can be said to be of a silent and
unseen presence that can appear, without warning, like an uninvited guest to sour
the proceedings.

Sports violence is an act of causing physical harm to the opponent, which is


against the competitive spirit, fair play and the rules of the sport. Over the past few
decades, sports have become a highly sought after and financially lucrative career
for many and as a result, ruthless competition amongst sportspersons is rife. Thus,
with stiffer competition and higher stakes, sportspersons themselves want to win at
any cost.
LEGAL ANALYSIS

Section 415
Current is the age of corruption. It is sarvatra from lowest rung of the service to the
higher judiciary and in the governance. Unfortunately, it seems to have entered into
the field of sports too. Recently, Abhijeet Kale, a Maharashtra Player, threw up
corruption and match fixing charges in Indian Cricket.1 It was only about few years
back, when the racket of 'match fixing' in Indian cricket came to fore when players
like Ajay Jadeja, Azharuddin and Manoj Prabhakar were all charged with 'fixing' the
matches.
It is said that match-fixing is cheating the government, the public, especially the
millions of cricket fans. Underplaying and nexus with bookies are acts of cheating for
pecuniary benefits. But from a legal point of view according to s.415 of IPC
Whoever, by deceiving any person, fraudulently, or dishonestly induces the person so
deceived to deliver any property to any person, or to consent that any person shall
retain any property, or intentionally induces the person so deceived to do or omit to
do anything which he would not do or omit if he were not so deceived, and which act
or omission causes or is likely to cause damage or harm to that person in body, mind,
reputation or property, is said to cheat. Explanation to this section says that- A
dishonest concealment of facts is a deception within the meaning of this Section. For
interpreting this section for purposes of match fixing one has to look into definition of
word 'Dishonestly' given in section 24 of IPC which reads as - Whoever does
anything with the intention of causing wrongful gain to one person, or wrongful loss
to another person is said to do that thing dishonestly." The courts while interpreting
s.24 has made clear that just because someone has suffered a wrongful loss, it does
not mean that the act that caused it was a dishonest act.

1
https://www.staffs.ac.uk/assets/souvenir_rkjain_sports_law_seminar_tcm44-37015.pdf
ROLE OF JUDICIARY
Ahmed v. State of Rajasthan2

In case it was held that the act becomes a 'dishonest' only when there is an intention,
irrespective of the result. Now in case of match fixing whether there is an element of
'dishonest concealment of fact' and whether it causes a wrongful loss or wrongful gain
to someone. When a player conceals the fact of receiving money from punters or
bookmakers, it can be construed as 'dishonest concealment of fact'. The fact that they
cause wrongful gain to themselves construes wrongful loss to spectators.

M/S Zee Telefilms Ltd. & Anr v. Union Of India & OrsWrit Petition3
In this case decision of Supreme Court is best remembered for its exclusion of the
BCCI from the ambit of Article 12 of the Constitution of India. However, the
Supreme Court of India also observed that while the BCCI is an autonomous body,
laid down that the BCCI is responsible for rule making so as to mitigate injuries to
players and promote safety in general, “The Board which represents a nation with or
without a statutory flavour has duties to perform towards the players, coaches,
umpires, administrators and other team officials. They have a duty to create safe rules
for the sport, if by reason thereof a physical injury to the player is to be avoided and
to keep safety aspect under ongoing review.”
This judgement clearly establishes the principle that the governing body for a sport is
ultimately responsible for prudent exercise of its rule making ability. The judgment
has opened up the prospect of liability being attached to the organizers or promoters
of sporting events in the case of an injury to a player or a spectator in such events,
especially if such injury is attributable to negligence or omission in rule making.

2
1967 Cri LJ 1053
3
[2005] 4 SCC 649
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

Sports carve out an exception to the general rule of violence and the criminal liability
which accrues from it. The beauty of a sport lies in the fact that the players consent to
the inherent risks prevalent in the particular sport. The degree of risk depends on the
nature of the sport the player is participating in, as the inherent risk prevalent in
contact sports, like wrestling, boxing is far greater than sports like golf and tennis.
Criminal charges are usually not pressed against sportspersons involved in violent
behaviour in an ongoing match, and the referees and the sporting bodies as per rules
and regulations of the particular sport deal with such actions sternly. Therefore, it
becomes imperative to ensure that in any sport, the rules of the particular sport are
followed strictly and the players conduct themselves according to the rules and
regulations of the particular sport and as per the prevalent norms of society. This is
necessary to maintain the true spirit of sports and the values associated with it.

Many facets encompass sports ranging from organizing, infrastructural and


financial requirements, access of necessary paraphernalia, sponsorship to
participation, broadcasting, popularizing, building camaraderie amongst groups,
clubs, entertainment and reflection of the public fervor and national as well as
international representation. The sports field is amongst the rapidly increasing and
emerging fields of growth in terms of competition as well as contribution to the world
economy amounting to 3%. Basic question of need for a sports law despite the
existence of many influential sports federations and bodies, the state role in rendering
conducive conditions for physical fitness to curb the exploitation and ignorance of the
sports players and athletes and most importantly, incentivizing sports players and
other stakeholders, the government ought to creep in the sports arena and regulate the
same.

Here are some of the suggestions that can be considered to make the sports healthy
event. These are:

1) Indian Sports Act must ensure proper responsibility and liabilities of the sports
bodies and Authorities; and key policies for sports bodies should consists code of
conducts of persons contributing for effective working of sports along with sports
fraternity, policies for discipline, selection, harassment, conflict of interests,
recruitment etc. so as problems regarding corruption and ill behaviour of members
can be duly taken into consideration.

2) The insurance must be provided so as in case of injury and loss to live the potential
liability can be easily imposed by assessing the injury and damages and the risk can
be covered.

3) The Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) may administer amateur sports in India as
well as all appeals and adjudication under the Indian law on penalties for doping in
sports and sports related disputes like match fixing, corruption, breach of contract,
violence, etc. this will lead to effective solving of organizational matters.

4) The sports law should made an specific provision that are under the law bound not
to make any gender discrimination among the players. For instance, Title IX in the
USA is an important Act of 1972, which prohibits a federally funded institute to
discriminate on the basis of gender

5) The proper pattern of Natural Justice must be followed for the redressal of disputes
in sports fraternity for example cases involving allegations of drug abuse and use of
performance enhancing drugs these bodies must give the concerned player the right of
being heard before taking any punitive action against him and should not solely
depend on the media reports and publications.”

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