Karnataka HC quashes registration, affiliations granted to 'Kalarippayattu' Association

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has quashed the registration certificate granted by the Registrar of Societies and cancelled all affiliations and grants provided to a 'Kalarippayattu' association which had duplicated the name of another association by adding a single additional letter 'P' to its name.

The petition filed by Karnataka Kalaripayattu Association was allowed by the single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna and the affiliations and registration of the respondent association 'Karnataka Kalarippayattu Association' was quashed in a recent order.

The respondent association remained absent from the proceedings and was not represented in the court.

The Karnataka Kalaripayattu Association, in its petition, had made the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Karnataka Department of Youth Affairs, Registrar of Societies and Sports Authority of India as respondents.

The respondent association had been granted registration by the Registrar of Societies and was later granted recognition by the other authorities.

The court, however, noted that "The duplication of the name is specifically barred under Section 7 of the Karnataka Societies Registration Act." Despite several opportunities, the respondent association did not file a representation before the court.

The court said that duplication cannot be allowed in such circumstances, relying on its earlier decision in a similar issue between the Bengaluru Urban Zilla Amateur Kabaddi Association and the Bengaluru Urban District Amateur Kabaddi Association.

Citing the earlier judgement, the high court said, "Section 7 mandates that societies should not be registered with undesirable names. The mandate of the provision is that a society shall not be registered by a name which, in the opinion of the registrar, is undesirable for the reason that a name which is identical with or too nearly resembles the name by which the society first in existence has been previously registered would be deemed to be undesirable."

Based on this, the court ordered the quashing of the registration certificate passed by the Registrar of Societies dated February 8, 2022, and directed cancellation of all affiliations, grants, etc., given to the association in pursuance of the certificate.