Delhi HC clears way for conducting IBL-2; BAI given all authority to go ahead
THE PATH OF HOSTING Indian Badminton League (IBL) Season 2 has been cleared after Delhi High Court withheld the injunction requested by Sporty Solutionz on 3rd November 2015. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has all authority to conduct the world’s premier badminton league in future without having any obstruction from any quarter, including Sporty Solutionz.
The Delhi High Court yesterday has declined to grant any injunction order, as prayed for by Sporty Solutionz, and the High Court adjourned the case for 10th December 2015.
Speaking on the decision by Delhi High Court, BAI President & IBL Chairman Akhilesh Das Gupta said:
“We are content with the latest development in our legal matter with Sporty Solutionz. The Honourable High Court has decided to withhold the injunction requested by Sporty Solutionz on the organization of the second season of the Indian Badminton League. This means we are free to organise the league as originally envisioned and are sparing no effort to make sure it goes ahead as planned. The BAI is the government-recognized federation for Badminton in India and Badminton is solely BAI’s intellectual property. We have full faith in the Indian judicial system and are confident the matter will be settled in our favour.”
As per BAI lawyer Sunil Kumar Mittal’s legal statement, the agreement between Badminton Association of India and Sporty Solutionz was terminated by BAI after the IBL-1 through a legal notice as Sporty Solutionz was found guilty of various breaches. With this termination, IBL 2 could not be organised in 2014 and 2015. After the termination of the agreement, Sporty Solutionz has lost all its rights to organise any event related to BAI.
Sunil Kumar Mittal’s legal statement also stated that after three months of the legal notice for termination, Sporty Solutionz filed a petition, impugning its termination, before Delhi High Court and it was dismissed by the High Court on May 2015. In October 2015, Sporty Solutionz files another petition seeking stay orders against BAI in the matter of organising IBL Season 2. BAI has successfully opposed the petition and the Delhi High Court has given time to BAI to file its reply to the petition by 10th December 2015.
In these circumstances, BAI is free to proceed further with its plan to organise IBL 2 in the next year.
