AIFF Funds Siphoning: FIR can be filed against former AIFF President Praful Patel over allegations of KICKBACKS, says Supreme Court

AIFF Funds Siphoning: Praful Patel, the former president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), appears to be in deep trouble. As the Supreme Court announced that it would investigate whether or not a FIR should be filed against the AIFF’s former office holders for alleged theft of AIFF funds. Follow AIFF, Indian Football LIVE updates with InsideSport.IN.

AIFF Funds Siphoning: FIR can be filed against former AIFF President Praful Patel over allegations of KICKBACKS, Supreme Court studying AUDIT REPORT: Follow LIVE

Also Read: AIFF vs FIFA: SC voices displeasure over Praful Patel’s ‘interference’ in AIFF functioning – Check Out (insidesport.in)

This development occurred on Wednesday in front of a bench presided over by CJI D Y Chandrachud. The bench also served Patel and Shaji Prabhakaran, the current secretary general of AIFF, with notices of contempt of court. This has been done on the basis of the claim that the previous AIFF management attempted to get around an SC order appointing a committee of administrators by convincing FIFA to write a letter threatening to disqualify AIFF.

[🥇] Supreme Court said it would look into whether an FIR should be registered against its former AIFF chief Praful Patel for alleged embezzlement of AIFF funds. 🇮🇳😶 @timesofindia #IndianFootball #SFtbl

— Sevens Football (@sevensftbl) November 10, 2022

Gopal Shanakaranarayanan, amicus curiae, and senior advocate informed the bench that a forensic audit report produced by Deloitte “shows out how kickbacks were collected by members of the then AIFF management in granting contracts during 2017–22.”

The SC panel, which also included Justices Hima Kohli and J. S. Pardiwala, stated that it would read the audit report under seal on the theft of AIFF funds before deciding whether or not to make it public. “Regarding contents of sealed covers, I am cautious. We will review the report to see whether a formal FIR needs to be filed for additional investigation. If more research was necessary, those sections of the forensic report would be redacted and provided to the parties” CJI stated as per Times of India.

The bench was informed by Shanakaranarayanan that the report contains a number of private communications. It would be preferable, he argued, if the bench made the decision about whether or not to make the complete report public.

Tushar Mehta, the solicitor general, stated that the bench may, if necessary, conduct a thorough investigation into the affairs of AIFF after reading the report. The SG objected when senior attorney Rahul Mehra suggested that the amicus curiae file the lawsuit because that would compel them to testify in court, which is not ideal. The SG was supported by the CJI.

COA-AIFF saga and AIFF Funds Siphoning

A committee of administrators chaired by Justice A. R. Dave, former CEC S. Y. Quraishi, and former India captain Bhaskar Ganguly was chosen by the SC on May 18 to replace Patel’s management. However, the COA had to be abandoned as FIFA threatened to de-recognize the AIFF since it lacked an elected body in a letter. The CoA had claimed that the prior administration had induced FIFA to write to AIFF in violation of the SC order appointing CoA.

When Amicus stated that the Indian U-17 women’s football team gave a disappointing performance at the World Cup that India hosted, losing 8-0, 5-0, and 3-0 in their three games. To this, CJI Chandrachud replied, “We all like football and it has to be taken to the stature enjoyed by cricket and hockey by putting the management with responsible people, who could follow the working models adopted by cricket and hockey managements.”