India to be more transparent over Arjuna awards

The government was told on Friday to be more transparent in making its choices for the Arjuna awards, the country's second highest prize in sport.

A special bench of the Delhi high court asked the government to put forward clear guidelines for choosing the prize winners following a writ filed by Asian discus champion Anil Kumar alleging that undeserving people were being given the awards.

"There must be a methodology. A sense of transparency is needed," Justice Arijit Passayat said.

Kumar, who won the gold medal at last year's Asian meet in Jakarta and took silver at the 1998 Asian Games, filed the petition after he was overlooked for the third straight year.

The court refused to accept his plea for a stay on former athlete Rachna Govil and ex-gymnast Kalpana Debnath receiving the awards under a lifetime achievement category, but said their retaining the honour would depend on the petition's final outcome.

President K.R. Narayanan is scheduled to give away the awards at a ceremony in the presidential palace on Saturday.

This year's government sports awards have raised controversy.

Recently, Indian track legend Milkha Singh, who came fourth in the 400 metres at the 1960 Rome Olympics, declined to accept his award after being chosen with 13 others for lifetime achievement.

Milkha, nicknamed the "Flying Sikh", said some of the other athletes receiving the honour were not worthy of it.

Kumar's lawyer told the court that Govil had won only a bronze medal in the women's 3,000 metres at a five-nation meet in India in 1981, while there were more than 100 others with better credentials who have not been given the award.

The court said the selection committee in future should include leading former athletes such as tennis player Ramanathan Krishnan, twice a Wimbledon singles semifinalist.

The panel under the federal sports minister now consists largely of bureaucrats.

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Special bench to hear Arjuna awards petitions