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Ajmal FC and Anr. vs. Sh Anuj Gupta and Ors.

Original Miscellaneous Petition (Interim) · 2026:DHC:8864Decided 7 Oct 2026New Delhi Bench
O.M.P.(I) 15/2026CNR: DLHC010484732026
Justice Om Prakash Shukla

Background

A football club (Ajmal FC) and its representative sought urgent court protection against a communication from the outgoing President of the Delhi Soccer Association, whose own tenure had reportedly already expired, purportedly expelling the club indefinitely and banning the representative from football activities for two years.

Decision Breakdown

The Court referred the underlying dispute to arbitration under the Delhi International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), appointing a named Sole Arbitrator to decide the matter within 10 days, while leaving all objections (including on jurisdiction and arbitrability) open to be argued before the arbitrator. The Court clarified its own observations were only for deciding the interim application and would not bind the arbitrator, and directed that the respondent be duly served and given a chance to participate.

Lesson Learnt

Where a sporting body's own rules provide for arbitration, courts tend to grant only urgent interim relief and push the real dispute to fast-track arbitration rather than deciding it themselves.

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