Special Bench to hear Anil Kumar's petition

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 27. Asian discus throw champion Anil Kumar's writ petition, alleging irregularities in the selection process for the Arjuna Awards, will be heard by a Special Bench of the Delhi High Court on Friday.

With the case gaining focus as the Arjuna Award ceremony neared, Justice Mukul Mudgal referred it to the Chief Justice, Mr. Arijit Passayat, on Thursday. Justice Passayat then decided to set up a special bench, comprising himself and Justice Mudgal, to hear the case.

The President, Mr. K.R. Narayanan, is scheduled to give away the awards at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday. Anil Kumar, in his amended petition, had challenged the inclusion of the names of Rachana Govil and Kalpana Debnath in this year's Arjuna awardees list. Both have been conferred the award for lifetime contribution, which Anil Kumar has termed as ``fictitious'' and ``below par.''

Justice Mudgal had on September 18 sought details of achievements of Rachana Govil and Kalpana Debnath. The lawyers of the respective defendants submitted the list of the sporting achievements. An affidavit, signed by Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Sports, was also submitted in which the Ministry defended its decision to select Govil and Debnath for the prestigious award.

Having gone through the details of the achievements of Govil and Debnath, Justice Mudgal refrained from making any observations.

Initially, Anil Kumar had filed his petition as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Chief Justice's court but Justice Passayat referred it to Mr. Mudgal as the nature of the case was a personal one.

- Our Sports Reporter

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Section  : Sport
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