SC notice to Centre, states on plea to make sports part of fundamental right
New Delhi, Aug 20 : The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to Centre, state governments and Union Territories on a PIL seeking directions to make sports a part of the Fundamental Rights as well as promotion of sports education in the country.
A bench of Justice S.A. Bobde and Justice L. Nageswara Rao sought response within four weeks on the Public Interest Litigation field by a law student.
Kanishka Pandey approached the top court seeking direction to the government "not to make any discrimination between the education and sports" and to treat sports as part and parcel of sports curriculum.
Advocate Rajeev Dubey, counsel appearing for Pandey, contended that the government and various stakeholders evolve a sporting culture in the country.
The government has to strive for promotion of sports education, sports values and sports culture as part of education, Dubey said.
The PIL said that sports should be included among academics from "nursery to post-graduate level and to fundamental right to education."
"Sports should be included in the curriculum from nursery to secondary level and education with sports subject should be imparted to the child from the very beginning of education. Children's talent and sports aptitude should be tested from the elementary school days itself so that the talent of a child can be improved and developed through training and education," said the PIL.
There should be a compulsory provision for sports in the school budget which should be utilised for sports activity only. Also, there should be one post of sports secretary in students unions, it added.
"Issue direction to constitute a high level committee of parliamentarians, academicians and sports persons to make appropriate suggestions to amendment in the Constitution of India to include sports as a Fundamental Right in Part III, especially in Article 21A of the Constitution of India," stated the plea.
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Former ICAR member demands CBI probe into Padma Shri awardee Ayyappan's death
New Delhi, May 11 (PTI): A former member of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on Sunday demanded a court-monitored CBI investigation into the "untimely and mysterious" death of former ICAR Director General and Padma Shri awardee Subbanna Ayyappan.
Venugopal Badaravada, previously on ICAR's Governing Body, said: "The conditions surrounding his untimely death are deeply troubling. His scooter was found abandoned, and the cause of his death remains unclear. These circumstances demand a court-monitored CBI investigation".
In separate letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, Badaravada alleged that the tragic event reveals "deep-rooted corruption, irregular appointments, and abuse of power within ICAR, ASRB (Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board), and affiliated institutions".
"Ayyappan ji's death might be a consequence of institutional vendetta or administrative collapse, as the scientific and farming communities are now alleging," he added.
Ayyappan (70) was found dead in the Cauvery River near Srirangapatna, Karnataka, on Saturday. His two-wheeler was discovered on the riverbank, with local police suspecting he may have jumped into the river. His body was recovered three days after he went missing under suspicious circumstances.
Badaravada also criticised ICAR for "unlawfully" removing him from the governing body on May 5 through "a one-sided office order without conducting a serious inquiry".
"This unlawful removal reflects a dangerous trend within ICAR, silencing whistleblowers while shielding entrenched corruption," he claimed.
Ayyappan, who resided in Vishweshwara Nagar Industrial Area of Mysuru, was reported missing on May 7 when his family filed a complaint with the Vidyaranyapuram Police Station. Police noted that he often meditated at the Saibaba ashram, located on the Cauvery River banks in Srirangapatna.
The deceased scientist was the first non-crop specialist to head ICAR and was credited with playing a significant role in India's 'Blue Revolution'.
He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
