C Rengaraju, Secretary, Veeriah Memorial Football Club Vs Tiruchirapalli District Football Association

PRAYER: Petition filed under Section 11(6) of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, to appoint a suitable Arbitral Tribunal to decide the disputes which have arisen between the Petitioner and the Respondent and for costs.

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Arb Appln No. 783 of 2024

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PRAYER: Petition filed under Section 9 of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, to appoint an administrative committee to conduct free, fair and transparent elections for the 1st Respondent, and authorize the said committee to take over the management and affairs of the 1st Respondent in the interim, pending disposal of the arbitral proceedings.

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For Petitioner(s): Mr.Athiban Vijay AK For Respondent(s): Mr.Mahesh Kumar

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COMMON ORDER

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Arb Appln.No.783 of 2024 has been filed under Section 9 of the

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Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 [hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'] for

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appointment of an Administrative Committee to conduct fair, free and transparent elections for the Tiruchirapalli District Foot Ball Association and authorize the said committee to take over the management and affairs of the said

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Association pending disposal of the arbitration proceedings.

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2.Arb O.P No. 6 of 2025 has been filed under Section 11(6) of the Act for

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appointment of Arbitral Tribunal to decide the dispute that has arisen between

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the petitioner and the first respondent.

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3.For proper understanding, the parties will be addressed as petitioner and

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respondents in both the cases.

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4.The case of the petitioner is that All India Foot Ball Federation is a

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Society registered under the Societies Registration Act. The fifth respondent,

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namely, the Tamil Nadu Foot Ball Association is a member of the All India Foot Ball Federation. The Tamil Nadu Foot Ball Association is also a Registered

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Society under the Societies Registration Act. Under the Tamil Nadu Foot Ball Association, various District Bodies and Clubs are functioning. One such

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District Body is the Tiruchirapalli District Foot Ball Association.

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5.There is a long standing dispute insofar as the affairs of the first

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respondent Association qua the Tamil Nadu Foot Ball Association. The same

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resulted in the parties approaching this Court and various orders were passed

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under Section 9 of the Act and also Awards passed under Section 34 of the Act

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and further orders passed on appeal filed under Section 37 of the Act. Ultimately, AGM was conducted on 06.06.2019 for election of Office Bearers

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and elections were concluded and the petitioner was elected as one of the Office Bearers for the term between 2019-2023. However, pursuant to the interim

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orders passed by the District Court under Section 9 of the Act, the declaration of

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the results was withheld. Final orders were passed and the legitimacy of the election conducted in the year 2019 was considered and the Court decided not

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to interfere with the election and thus, the term of the elected Office Bearers

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from 2019-2023 remained unaltered.

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6.The grievance of the petitioner is that all of a sudden, some of the

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members of the first respondent including the second and third respondents sent

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a notice for conducting AGM on 30.06.2022 for the purpose of election of new

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Office Bearers. This was done even when the tenure of the previously elected Office Bearers was in force. However, in total disregard to the same, the new

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Office Bearers were elected for a period of four years. It is under these

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circumstances, the application came to be filed before this Court for appointing an Administrative Committee to conduct free, fair and transparent elections since the earlier tenure has come to an end in the year 2023. The petitioner has also raised a dispute with respect to the elections that were conducted in the year 2022, which has to be resolved by the Arbitral Tribunal. Accordingly, a petition has also been filed under Section 11 for appointment of an Arbitrator.

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7.Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned counsel for

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the respondents.

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8.It is seen from the records that the very functioning of the Tamil Nadu Foot Ball Association was in complete disarray which resulted in this Court passing an order appointing an Administrative Committee chaired by Hon'ble Mr.Justice A.K.Rajan (Retd.) The Committee was entrusted with a range of responsibilities to ensure proper governance, fair administration across all District Foot ball Associations including the first respondent. The fifth

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respondent was also entrusted with the responsibilities of verifying and

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finalizing the list of eligible voting members and conducting elections in

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compliance with the procedures. Thus, the overall control of the Tamil Nadu

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Foot Ball Association is now in the hands of the retired Judge of this Court along with other members. Hence, it is not necessary for this Court to appoint

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any Committee for conducting the elections for the first respondent Association

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and the same will be taken care by the Committee appointed by this Court.

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Therefore, no further orders are required to be passed under Section 9 of the Act.

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9.The only other issue to be considered is with respect to the election that

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was conducted in the year 2022 (30.06.2022), which has been questioned by the

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petitioner. The constitution of the Tamil Nadu Foot Ball Association provides

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for Arbitral Tribunal under Article 66. This Arbitral Tribunal can resolve the dispute between the Tamil Nadu Foot Ball Association, its members, clubs, players, officials and all those who are involved in the game of Association with

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Foot Ball. Thus, the petitioner has sought for appointment of an Arbitrator by relying upon this Article to resolve the dispute that has arisen pursuant to the

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election held on 30.06.2022 even when the tenure of the earlier Office Bearers

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was in force. In view of this election, the tenure of the Office Bearers who were

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elected on 30.06.2022 is for a period of four years and it comes to an end only in the year 2026. This issue can be resolved by appointing an independent Arbitrator which was consented by both sides.

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10.In the light of the above discussions, this Court proceeds to appoint a sole Arbitrator. Accordingly, Mr.C.T.Mohan, Senior Advocate (residing at Old No.70, New No.18, Landons Road, Kilpauk, Chennai 600 010, Mobile No.9445487639, [email protected]) is appointed as the sole Arbitrator and the Arbitrator is requested to enter upon reference qua the internal governance and administrative actions of the first respondent, adjudicate the arbitral dispute that were arising between the parties by holding the sittings in any venue in Chennai to the convenience of all concerned and render an award. Fees of the sole Arbitrator shall be in accordance with the Madras High Court Arbitration Centre (MHCAC)(Administrative Cost and Arbitrator's Fees) Rules 2017.

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11.Both applications are disposed of in the above terms. There shall be

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no order as to costs.

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08-09-2025

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