The Indian National Basketball League Pro (INBL Pro) is being sued by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) for using the terms “India” or “Select Indian Team” without permission. The BFI, which oversees basketball in the nation, claims that these terms create the impression that the league is being organized with its approval.
The exhibition game for the six-franchise INBL Pro basketball competition took place on May 10.
On May 9 and 10, Justice Prathiba M. Singh heard the case. The court ordered the INBL Pro to stop recruiting Indian players to compete in the league and from creating the appearance that the league is being run with BFI approval in the May 9 judgment.
The next day, INBL Pro announced that its exhibition match will take place on the same day in an application for a vacation of order.
The Court made an interim arrangement for the exhibition match in light of the fact that a number of foreign players had also traveled for the event.
The Court mandated that the INBL Pro clarify that it is not affiliated with the BFI and that it is running the league without approval from the organization.
It mandated that the INBL Pro clarify that the May 10 exhibition match was not intended for the Indian team’s selection.
After the match on May 10, the Court ordered the INBL Pro to make sure that no more league games are played.
Justice Singh went on to state that players who are now undergoing training under the Basketball Federation of India are free to return to the federation and training camp after competing in an INBL Pro match.
“The aforementioned arrangement is being implemented in order to guarantee participation in the remaining national and international events as well as the proper representation of Team India and the Basketball Federation of India as the official team of India in international competitions. Additionally, the Court ordered that none of the players would face consequences for taking part in the competition that the Defendants organized today.
Although the INBL Pro organizers assert that BFI and them have an agreement, BFI contended that the agreement is null and void from the beginning since it was signed on February 15, 2023, by a person named Chander Mukhi Sharma, who is the BFI’s Secretary General.
But on February 13, 2023, Sharma resigned as Secretary General, and the BFI ended the aforementioned contract.
The federation went on to state that although it was obviously untrue, the defendants were conveying the idea that they were the official league and that the BFI was approving the organization of the INBL Pro.
The owners of INBL Pro countered that their bid was the winning one and that the impression given by the BFI that the agreement was not properly authorised to run a league was untrue. The expression of interest for the aforementioned agreement to run a league was issued on December 26, 2022.
The Court was informed that the BFI also received a bank guarantee for ₹82.5 lakh and that the agreement explicitly states that termination of the arrangement requires a month’s notice.
The Court established a temporary plan for the match on May 10 after reviewing the matter.
The defendants were given an order by the court to respond to BFI’s request for an injunction, and it was announced that the matter will be heard again on July 29.
The Basketball Federation of India was represented by senior advocates Sandeep Sethi, Rajiv Nayar, and Dayan Krishnan, as well as advocates Rishi Agrawala, Anirudh Bakhru, Eklavya Dwivedi, Ankit Banati, Shravan Niranjan, Prabhav Bahuguna, Vikram Choudhary, T Mahendhran, Raghunatha Sethupathy, Shreedhar Kale, Sukrit Seth, Naman Agrawal, Sumer Seth, and Sanya Sethi.
Advocates Apoorv Bansal, Vishesh Issar, Rahul Dhawan, Randeep Sachdeva, and Krishna Parkhani represented Captains Professional Basketball League Private Limited, the INBL Pro’s proprietors.
