Kerala High Court Dismisses PIL Challenging Use Of Name “Indian Premier League” By BCCI
The petitioner alleged that the BCCI is a private body and is not recognised as a National Sports Federation.
The Kerala High Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation challenging the use of the name “Indian Premier League” by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), stating that the petition had no merit.
The writ petition was filed by a 28-year-old claiming to be a social worker from Ernakulam district, challenging the use of the name “Indian Premier League” by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), alleging that the private body is illegally using the name without recognition as a National Sports Federation.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V. M. held, “We find no merit in the substance of the said argument and hence we do not feel that it would be proper to keep this writ petition as a Public Interest Litigation.”
Advocates P.V. Rema appeared for the Petitioner, and the Deputy Solicitor General appeared for the Central Government.
According to the petition, the petitioner is aggrieved by the illegal use of the name “Indian Premier League” by the BCCI, which is a private body registered under the Tamil Nadu Registration of Societies Act, 1975 and is not a recognised National Sports Federation by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports under the Union of India. The petitioner relied on documents downloaded from the official website of the Ministry to claim that the BCCI does not have the status of a National Sports Federation.
The petition also referred to The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950, which restricts the use of certain names and emblems by private entities without permission from the Central Government. Section 3 of the Act states that no person shall use any name or emblem specified in the Schedule, or any colourable imitation thereof, for trade, business or profession without prior permission of the Central Government.
The petitioner argued that the use of the name “Indian Premier League” by the BCCI without obtaining the status of National Sports Federation or specific authorisation from the government is a violation of Sections 2(a) and 3 of the Act. It was further alleged that the tournament creates a false impression among the public that it has the patronage of the Government of India.
The petitioner argued that various cricket tournaments, including the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is a franchise-based Twenty-20 cricket tournament organised by the BCCI, should not be permitted to use the name “Indian Premier League.”
The Court noted, “The said tournament is continuing for several years and it is now stated that the petitioner recently realised that the IPL is not an official Cricket tournament of the Country and as such the use of the name Indian Premier League is illegal as used by the Board of Control for Cricket.”
However, the Court found no substance in the argument. The bench observed that it did not find merit in the claims raised in the petition and therefore did not consider it appropriate to treat the matter as a Public Interest Litigation.
Cause Title: Ashique Karoth v. Union of India & Anr., [2026:KER:22346]
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocates P.V.Rema, M.V. Rathish
Respondents: Senior Advocate V. Tekchand, Advocate Arjun Venugopal