Supreme Court gives green signal for Premier Badminton League

The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Badminton Association of India to hold Premier Badminton League which is scheduled from January 2.

A fortnight before Premier Badminton League(PBL) is to start, clouds of uncertainty were hovering over the sporting event with Meghalaya High Court staying the tournament scheduled to be held from January 2 to January 17.

Facing uncertainty, the Badminton Association of India rushed to the Supreme Court which stayed the HC order and allowed the Association to hold the tournament which will feature six franchises and several international players.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the association, pleaded a bench of Justices M Y Eqbal and C Nagappan to stay the HC order. He said that HC had no jurisdiction to entertain the petition and the court erred in staying the tournament. The bench, after a brief hearing, stayed the HC order. The PBL will have 18 matches, including two semifinals and one final match. The final match is scheduled for January 17.

The HC had passed the order on a petition filed by Sobhagaya Media Private Limited challenging the validity of the franchisee meet held in New Delhi on December 6. Claiming to be a franchisee of the League, it had alleged that the decision pertaining to tournament was taken allowing it to participate in the meeting.