Spending public money, abuse of process of law: SC imposes Rs 50K cost on office bearers of TN Football Association

The plea was against an order passed by the Madras HC, which appointed a committee to look into the affairs of the football body until a new administrative panel is appointed.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea by the Tamil Nadu Football Association against an order passed by the Madras High Court, which appointed a committee to look into the affairs of the football body until a new administrative panel is appointed.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan criticised the football association office bearers and termed the petition filed by the association as an abuse of process of law.

The court slapped a cost of Rs 50,000 on the office bearers of the Tamil Nadu Football Association, including its president Jesiah Villavarayar.

The bench made it clear that the office bearers shall not reimburse the cost from the association.

“The problem is that you are not spending money from your pocket so you don’t know the pain of litigation,” the court told the Association.

“You are spending public money. This is all self-promotion and abuse of the process of the law,” the bench further told the counsel.

The bench directed that the cost should be deposited with the Supreme Court Middle Income Group Legal Aid Services and directed its registry to list the matter as a contempt petition on its own if the members fail to deposit the cost amount.

The court passed the order while hearing an appeal filed by the Tamil Nadu Football Association and its office bearers against the order passed by the high court in September last year.

The high court had constituted an administrative committee of retired judge Justice A K Rajan (Retd) with four other members. The committee was tasked to administer the association until the new administrative body is elected and approved by the high court.