Delhi HC Refuses To Quash Sanction To Conduct Indian Racing League

The Delhi High Court has refused to quash the sanction given for conducting the Indian Racing League (IRL), which is scheduled to begin from Saturday in Hyderabad and Chennai.

It also said that the central government is aware that the cars, which will be a part of the event, have been imported, and according to the law, it would not be prudent for this Court to render directions to authorities situated outside its territorial jurisdiction.

The IRL is scheduled to be held from November 19 to December 11.

The racing league, which will bring together drivers from across the country and abroad, will begin with the first round at Hyderabad on November 19 and 20. Two of the four rounds will be held at the Madras International Circuit (MIC) near Chennai while the others will be held at the Hyderabad street circuit.

A Bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad upheld an order passed by the single judge of the High Court that observed there was a serious managerial dispute between the appellant, a shareholder and director of Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd (RPPL), and its board, and the instant petition is a smokescreen to settle grievances that the appellant harbours against RPPL.

Senior Advocates Vikas Singh, Mohit Mathur and Jayant Mehta appeared for the Petitioner while Senior Advocates Sandeep Seth and Rajiv Nayar appeared for the Respondents and Advocate Anil Soni, CGSC for the Union. The order, which was passed on Thursday, was made available on the court's website on Friday.

In November 2018, Xtreme 1 Racing League entered into a sanction and commercial rights agreement with the Federation of Motor Sports Club of India (FMSCI) and the RRPL.

It was stated by the appellant, a majority shareholder of RPPL, that he got information about the dates of the IRL through Instagram and was kept in the dark about meetings being convened by the RPPL board.

In the appeal it was alleged that the sanction granted to the IRL is replete with infirmities and is not in consonance with the procedural norms of the FMSCI, and that the same must be quashed.

The central government's standing counsel, Anil Soni, submitted that the Union of India has given a no-objection certificate (NOC) to the event and that the Centre is aware about the cars which have been imported for the race.

The division bench noted that despite the agreement signed on November 10, 2018, the appellant approached the court belatedly and a perusal of the material on record demonstrated that the litigation arises out of friction between the appellant and other management personnel at the RPPL.

"The Union of India has granted NOC for the conduct of the event in question. FMSCI conducts these events in the entire country. Events have been conducted by FMSCI this year as well. The contention of the appellant that FMSCI has given a complete go-by to the safety norms cannot be accepted more so for the reason that the majority of writ petition concentrates on the dispute between the appellant and RPPL," it said.

"Taking this into consideration, this court is of the opinion that no pertinent issue has been raised by appellant that would justify this court's exercise of writ jurisdiction in the instant matter," the Bench said.

Regarding the alleged ignorance of safety norms pertaining to the racing cars participating in the event, the division bench agrees with the direction of the single judge whereby the FMSCI has been requested to examine the representation of the appellant and take appropriate measures to combat the same.

"In our considered opinion, racing being a sport that requires utmost precaution and safety measures on the part of the organisers, we believe FMSCI will ensure that anxieties pertaining to the safety of the conduct of the race are addressed appropriately," it said.

Cause Title: Navjeet Harjinder Gadhoke v. Union of India & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2022/DHC/004950)

Click here to read/download Judgment

With PTI inputs