SC Bins Plea to Stop Prasar Bharati from Using ‘Team India’ Title

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking to restrain public broadcaster Prasar Bharati, which operates Doordarshan and All India Radio, from referring to the BCCI’s cricket team as “Team India”, terming it “frivolous”. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi upheld the October 8 order of the Delhi High Court quashing the PIL filed by advocate Reepak Kansal.

The court panel said, “You sit at home and start preparing petitions. What is the problem in all this? Do not be a burden to the court. The failure to undertake an exemplary cost encouraged him to move this court.”

The plea argued that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) calling it “Team India” or “Indian national cricket team” misleads the public and violates laws governing the use of national symbols.

He claimed that the BCCI, a private organisation, should not be referred to as “Team India”, “especially where there is no sanction from the Indian government”.

“This is a complete waste of the court’s and your time… What is this argument? Are you saying that the team does not represent India? The team that goes and plays everywhere, they are making false statements. Forget BCCI, if Doordarshan or any other authority projects it as Team India, isn’t it Team India?” the bench asked.

The petition stated that the BCCI is a private society and is neither recognized as the National Sports Federation nor as a “public body” under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.

He alleged that referring to the BCCI team as “Team India” amounted to misrepresentation and could potentially violate the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act and the Indian Flag Code, which regulates the use of national names, flags and symbols.