The Delhi High Court has held Bhola Nath Singh, the Secretary General of Hockey India, guilty of contempt of court for his “wilful disobedience” of judicial directions. The ruling follows the sports body’s failure to provide mandatory meeting access to an elected official, an act the court characterized as an “administrative sin” for a federally funded National Sports Federation.
The central legal issue concerned the non-compliance with a court order dated January 17, 2025, which required Hockey India to allow Syeed Asima Ali, the elected Vice President, to participate in all executive board meetings via digital links. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav found that the Secretary General consciously bypassed these directions. While the issue of sentencing is scheduled for May 4, the court has granted Singh the liberty to “purge” the contempt by taking corrective measures.
The dispute originated from a petition filed by Syeed Asima Ali seeking the removal of Bhola Nath Singh from his post. Ali alleged that Singh is ineligible to hold elected office under the tenure and age restrictions mandated by the National Sports Code.
On January 17, 2025, the High Court issued an interim direction ordering Hockey India officials to provide Ali with the requisite links to enable her participation in all executive board meetings. However, Ali later moved a contempt plea, alleging that she was excluded from critical meetings held on July 4, 2025, and July 27, 2025.
During the proceedings, the court observed that Hockey India failed to provide any valid justification for the exclusion. The bench rejected the notion that subsequent events could excuse the officials from their obligations, especially since they had not sought a modification of the original order.
Justice Kaurav noted a complete lack of remorse from the respondents. The court observed:
“No endeavour has ever been made to purge the contempt. The minutes of the meeting, links for which were not provided to the petitioner, still stares at the face of the Court’s subsisting directions. There was not even a whisper of an apology, let alone an unconditional apology.”
The court further emphasized that a belated apology would not suffice to rectify the deliberate nature of the violation, stating:
“Even otherwise, also, an unconditional apology, unlike the holy water from the Ganges, cannot purify the respondents, specifically Mr. Bhola Nath Singh, of his conscious, concerted, deliberate and willful disobedience of the Court’s directions.”
The court concluded that the conduct of Hockey India and its Secretary General amounted to a clear case of contempt. It highlighted the heightened responsibility of National Sports Federations, which operate under the aegis of the State and receive public funding.
“This Court finds the respondents, and specifically Mr. Bhola Nath Singh, Secretary General of Hockey India, guilty of committing contempt of Court, by willfully disobeying/not complying with the order dated 17.01.2025,” the judgement stated.
While the court will hear arguments on the sentence on May 4, Singh has been given a window to purge the contempt through measures the court deems fit.
