Supreme Court Directs Centre, States to Respond to Proposals for Greater Physical Literacy

Madras HC dismisses PIL - law insider

Khushi Gupta

Published on: April 26, 2022 at 16:14 IST

The Supreme Court asked the Centre and states to respond to Interim suggestions made by Amicus Curiae Gopal Sankaranarayanan in a Petition seeking to recognise Physical Literacy as a Fundamental Right by amending Article 21 of the Constitution.

In his submission, Senoir Advocate Sankaranarayanan said Physical Literacy is not just about sports, but it’s about knowing own body and staying fit throughout one’s life.

The Report was filed in a 2018 Public Interest Litigation filed by Kanishka Pandey for recognising sports as a Fundamental Right.

Sankaranarayanan had stated, “One common outcome of all these exchanges is that rather than using the phrase ‘sport’ which is narrow, it would be better to adopt the phrase “physical literacy”, one that is firmly established as a right in the leading sporting nations of the world.”

Sankaranarayanan’s Submission has been challenged by the Petitioner by stating that the object of the Public Interest Litigation, as mentioned by the Amicus Curiae, is not just to prepare the player, but to explore different aspects of the sports and to develop physical fitness, mental fitness, character building, combating depression and establishing social harmony.

“The Report vouches for physical literacy and has contended that it’s a broad term. The report submitted by the organisation to the Learned Amicus Curiae has failed to gather the vision and understanding of the Petitioner. They have considered a very myopic aspect of sports i.e., talent promotion, competition and producing professional sportspersons. As already been stated above, it is just a very small fraction of the huge potential of sports which the report has failed to encapsulate,” the Petitioner said in a Statement.

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