Today in India, sports are one of the fastest-growing fields in terms of employment and profession. We can find a sportsman in every street in the city. But if we look about the laws regarding sports in India we would not find certainty and any stricter provisions regarding the same. This is because sports have never been an aim for which implementation of Law is required. Even sports had never been a mainstream issue for the legislation. But today, sports and games entail a lot of legal issues. The call of the hour is to set and implement strong and lucid policies in order to resolve all the disputes and legal issues arising. One of the reasons for the underperformance of our sportsmen is also that our country does not back them for any sort of injustice caused to them. The structure of the governance of sports in India is also a considerable point. The world of sports in India has been many times struck by malpractice, gambling, scandals, and what not! The vacuum and loopholes in the sphere of sports need to be filled soonest. Through this paper, I have tried to examine the current status of Sports Law in India.

Sports have always been a hobby, a source of entertainment, and a way of showing patriotism in our country. It has also been a way of keeping oneself fit and healthy. In ancient times, Sports were made or say invented to display skill, masculine power and to entertain people.

The history of sports in India can be found in Vedas, and even in the earliest civilization that is the Indus valley civilization or from the excavation of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. The archaeological excavation reveals that people in that time were indulged in playing some sort of games by using marbles, dice, balls although this was a source of entertainment to them.

In the literal sense, sports means any activity that involves physical and mental exertion and skill, and an individual or a team competes against the other either for entertainment purposes or as a profession. And similarly, Sports Law is an amalgamation of laws that apply to athletes or the player and the sport that they play. It does not include a single topic; instead, it combines all the laws such as contractual, tortuous, constitutional, labor, trademark, criminal, competition, and taxation. Thus sports law does not only involve matter regarding only sports but also includes a variety of other laws in a number of jurisdictions. If we look towards the current day\’s scenario, sports is the largest revenue-generating industries in the world. Today, the use of media, advertisements, internet in the sports industry is so much that it contributes to the world economy at a very high level.

There are laws and regulations on sports in a number of countries. Even the United Nations has mounted certain conventions related to physical education, sports, doping, discrimination, and harassment in sports. But India is lagging far behind in this as there are no clear laws stipulated in any of the statutes. For this, we have to walk a really long road for the implementation of strict, clear, and certain laws relating to sports in India.

Today the call of the hour is to look into this matter not in a waggish manner, just for the enjoyment of oneself but as a golden opportunity to boost the Indian economy as it is an industry that ensures the highest dividend for players and administrators alike.

History and Evolution of Sports

During the Vedic India, Dehvada or the body-way is defined as “one of the ways to full realization”. In times of Rig-Veda, Ramayana, and Mahabharata, the men of stature and circumstance got competent with each other in chariot-racing, archery, horsemanship, military tactics, wrestling, weight-lifting, swimming and hunting. From the time Indian Vedic history is recorded, the relationship between the Guru (teacher) and his student (shishya) has been considered as an integral part of the history of Indian sports. Sports in India reached new heights when Buddhism came into practice. Tiruvedacharya in Villas Mani describes many fascinating games. They are archery, equitation, hammer-throwing, and chariot-racing[1].

Human beings play sports activities since times immemorial. From the initial days of human civilization to date, sports and games evolved from social and personal entertainment to a global industry. Today, in the world of the sports industry, the use of advertisements, internet, and media is so much that it is the main revenue-generating industries. In this context, it is necessary to make law for all types of sports and games.

Need for Sports Law

The sporting world has been tormented by numerous scandals and controversies in the past few decades. The Olympic Bidding Scandal, the 2012 Commonwealth Games Scandal, the IPL scams, the sexual harassment on the Indian Women Hockey Team are a few to be named. If we look to the history of Indians, in the Olympic in the game of Hockey, it is a point to be marked that a country bagging 6 Golds back to back in a row from 1928 to 1956 and today is not even getting qualified for Olympics (2008). This exposed the maladministration of a defective system that is continuously draining our resources. Even the game that is termed as a gentleman’s game is also not untouched. There are various news about the match fixings, ball-tampering and what not. A recent example can be the ban that was put on Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

The major threats that are faced by the sporting world can be broadly classified under the following heads:

Labour Issue: Players and owners have to negotiate mandatory issues relating to working hours, wages, and working conditions. The agents/ managers entrusted to conduct business on the player’s behalf should be working as per well laid out norms that serve the best interests of the game.

Drug Use: The problem of performance-enhancing drugs is a major problem that needs to be addressed. Drug testing, list of banned drugs, penalties, privacy issues, and the right to appeal must be clearly stated by the nodal agency concerned. Doping is an issue that can only be resolved by having a stricter law and a proper authority being in-charged to look exclusively over these matters.

Tortuous Liability: Tort Laws were once not a part of the landscape of sports laws. But, intentional tort pointing to a criminal act of assault needs to be penalized. Similarly right to publicity has to deal with the defamation of a person’s character and reputation.

The issues such as negligence towards the audience or spectators, or a duty of care towards them can be bound on the players while playing games? The example we can refer to is in cases such as Bolton V. Stone[2], Miller V. Jackson [3], and many more.

Bribery: There is great necessity to inspect corruption and clinch the accountability in the management and monetary deals of the government bodies and other agencies bewildered in managing sports. Agreements that are exclusionary and therefore contrary to the Trade Practices Act should not be encouraged. Denial of essential facilities indispensable for the rivals to compete in an event must be severely dealt with.

Taxability: The taxability of the players is a big question to deal with! As it is not necessary that they will always be an Indian Resident in a previous year to be assessed in the particular Assessment Year. For eg: players are often on a sports tour, so the income that they receive there, will it be taxable in India? Or a foreign player who received money or a game prize for a sport that he played in India whether he is taxable in India? All this leads to great confusion and is a reason for black money holders and scandalous behaviour.

Sports Legislation in India: An Overview

There is no particular national or state legislation for the regulation of sports in India. The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports was set up by the Government of India to create the infrastructure and promote capacity building for broad-basing sports as well as for achieving excellence in various competitive events at the national and international levels.

Sports promotion is primarily the responsibility of the various National Sports Federations (NSFs) which are autonomous in nature. The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs issues notifications and guidelines from time to time for the purpose of regulation of NSFs.

The Governing Bodies of Sports Law in India are:

· Sports Authority of India

· National Sports Policy

· Sports Law and Welfare Association of India

· The Sports Broadcasting Law in India.

The judgment of the Delhi High Court in the case Ajay Jadeja v. Union of India[4] started a new period of legal reforms in sports. Integrity issues towards the sport, lack of proper coordinated investigation, the procedure for dealing with the complainant, investigation procedure were highlighted with the wake of IPL, and the many controversies attached to it. In this case, it was held that sporting bodies perform certain public functions and therefore are subject to the writ jurisdiction of High Court. The principle was upheld in Zee Telefilms v. Union of India[5] by Supreme Court.

Conclusion

Thus there should be a Law established to promote rules of ethics and spirit of sportsmanship among competitors and the bodies involved in decision making. The ethical solution to legal issues in sports is the foremost idea behind the vision and will lead to the enhancement of morale of the players by improving contractual brisk among them and the administrative bodies. Contracts must clarify expectations and commitments from the players and agents. Consultancy services must be provided to the sort bodies and players. Co-ordination and bonding between the legal fraternity and the sporting community is required for a healthy interaction. National identity and the spirit of representing India must supersede political decisions.

It would be a great step to include a former sportsperson for handling the affairs rather than a mere administrator or politician with vested interests. Misuse of the International Journal of Yoga, Physiotherapy, and Physical Education authority must be severely dealt with. A well-defined salary criterion should be brought in to maintain uniformity. Practices that are being a road blockage for new entrants should be struck down, drawing out existing players and foreclosure of competition must not be tolerated at any cost. An eye should be kept on safety along with the fastest legal support that must be provided for women players. Perpetrators of harassment and discrimination should be severely punished. The area of sports law is relatively new in our country hence cooperation and coordination with every person from the ground level is required. A well planned exhaustive competition compliance programmed can be of great benefit to all enterprises.

– Aarchi

KIIT, School of Law