Implement code to prevent age fraud at sporting events, says Chandigarh HC

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Chandigarh administration to take steps to ensure compliance with the principles of the National Code Against Age Fraud in Sports (NCAAFS).

The NCAAFS guidelines were circulated by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in March 2010, directing all Union governments and territories, as well as their sports authorities, to take appropriate steps to adopt and implement the code, irrespective of the nature of the tournament being held. organized.

According to the code, the TW3 method is adopted for determining age. However, sporting events in Chandigarh do not follow the rules. The TW3 method uses X-rays of the left hand and wrist to examine a person’s skeletal maturity and determine their bone age.

The matter has been brought to court by a Panchkula player seeking directions for the UT to adopt the TW3 method for determining age in the All India Administrator’s Challenge Cup football tournament, which is currently being held, as per the Central Government order.

The court did not make this event binding because it was reported that the test site was not available in the immediate future.

However, the court directed UT to ensure proper implementation of NCAAFS guidelines when organizing any tournaments recognized by national athletic federations in the future.

He noted that the scope of the code has been extended to all recognized national sports federations, Sports Authority of India through various SAI sports promotion schemes, sports control board governed by government departments, public sector undertakings, state governments, union territories and their sports. authorities.

UT’s counsel argued that the tournament in question was an invitational tournament and therefore the mandate was not applicable. However, the court noted that UT’s counsel could not rely on such classification when conducting competitive or invitational tournaments under the national sports code.

“The court also took note of the fact that although the tournament may not be organized by the National Sports Federation… it is recognized by the federation and will therefore have an impact on the overall ranking and performance of the participating athletes. ” it said, asking the UT to ensure the code is implemented correctly.