Panaji: The All India Football Federation’s ethics and dispute resolution committee has been left with just two members, prompting a pause into the Churchill Brothers versus Inter Kashi hearings on account of alleged conflict of interest.Following an appeal by Churchill Brothers, Delhi High Court had observed that committee chairperson RK Pachnanda should not preside over the matter on account of his earlier role of investigator as AIFF’s integrity officer.He later recused himself, and while three members remained, Sudarshan Kumar Agarwal has now resigned from the panel after Churchill general manager Aditya Barros pointed at his previous role as counsel for AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey and flagged a direct conflict of interest, as defined under Article 83.2.1 of the AIFF Disciplinary Code, 2024, and provisions of the AIFF Code of Ethics, 2017.The club said Agarwal had previously acted as the “personal lawyer of Chaubey and even “issued a legal notice for defamation on behalf of the AIFF president.”“Before I could decide the application on merits, Sudarshan Kumar Agarwal has resigned vide email dated March 22, as a member from the AIFF ethics and dispute resolution committee,” deputy chairperson Ashok Tripathi said in his order on Thursday. “In view of the above, application filed by Churchill Brothers has become infructuous and it is disposed accordingly.”The deputy chairman has now directed AIFF secretary to take steps to fill the vacancy arising due to Agarwal’s resignation since, “for the purpose of quorum, the presence of three members is mandatory under the regulations. Pachnanda, chairman of the committee, has already sought recusal in this case and Agarwal has now resigned.”Churchill wanted an independent chairperson to ensure “impartial adjudication” of their grievances.“The fundamental principles of natural justice require that a person who has previously been involved in the investigation or preliminary examination of a matter ought not to subsequently sit in adjudication over the same dispute,” the club wrote in its appeal.Churchill are locked in an acrimonious battle with Inter Kashi over last season’s I-League title. The Goan club has called for suspension/revocation of the Varanasi-based club’s entry in the I-League under the AIFF’s Request for Proposal (RFP).The complaint states that although Inter Kashi got entry in the I-League under the Tier-II city category by declaring its home ground in Varanasi, it played all its matches in 2023-24 and 2024-25 (except one), at Kalyani Stadium, a tier-1 city, and in “breach of its terms and commitments under the RFP.”The former I-League champions have initiated contempt of court proceedings against AIFF for “wilful and deliberate non-compliance” to follow court’s directives dated Jan 8, where the federation was directed to take Churchill’s complaints to their logical conclusion through a “speaking order” within four weeks after conclusion of hearings.

KALYAN: The death of local businessman Shrinivas Tandle, a cycling enthusiast, who was struck by a speeding car, allegedly driven by a minor boy, while he was riding his cycle on Kalyan Ring Road on Tuesday, has triggered widespread outrage among residents and fitness enthusiasts who frequent the route. On Thursday, cyclists, runners and residents gathered at the site to pay tribute, demanding urgent safety measures. Once regarded as a safe and vibrant stretch for morning walks, cycling and fitness activities, the Ring Road is now increasingly being seen as a high-risk zone, with reckless driving and unchecked speeding. Members of various cycling groups such as Kalyan Cyclist Group and BikePort Cyclists described a troubling pattern: the road has become a hotspot for young riders and drivers treating it like a racetrack, often exceeding speeds of 100kmph. Evening hours, in particular, see a spike in stunt riding and dangerous driving behaviour. Cyclist Dr Rahnuma Ehteshamuddin said the community would press for immediate safety measures such as police barricading, installation of speed breakers and deployment of speed detection cameras. “This road was once ideal for cyclists and walkers, but the increasing instances of rash driving have made it extremely risky,” he said.Echoing similar concerns, international cyclists and runner Dilip Ghadge said the incident has created fear among cyclists, with many families now discouraging their members from using the road. Police said the minor boy has been produced before the juvenile court and sent to a remand home. A case has also been registered against his mother, in whose name the vehicle is registered, and further action is likely. DCP Atul Zende said immediate steps are being taken to prevent further mishaps. “Barricading work has already started at the spot, and a police outpost will soon be set up,” he said.Police have also conducted medical tests of the 16-year-old minor boy to find out if he was drunk; his reports are awaited.

MUMBAI: Income Tax Appel-late Tribunal (ITAT), Mumbai bench, has ruled in favour of a taxpayer who received a flat worth Rs 11.7 crore in a redevelopment project in lieu of sur-rendering his tenancy rights. ITAT held that the transac-tion-viz surrender of tenan-cy rights amounted to transfer of a capital asset-and that the taxpayer, V Asher, was eligible for exemption under Section 54F of the Income Tax (I-T) Act. The tribunal further held that the value of the flat could not be taxed under the head ‘Income from other sources’. During scrutiny of the case for the year 2019-20, the I-T officer noted that the tenancy ar-rangement was not genuine. He, therefore, treated the value of the flat as ‘Income from other sources’, taxable at the applicable slab rate, and denied the exemption claimed by Asher under Section 54F. Section 54F provides for capital gains tax exemption when an individual sells a long-term capital asset, such as surrender of tenancy rights, and invests the proceeds in a residential ho-use. If the entire amount recei-ved on sale or surrender of the capital asset is invested in a new house, no capital gains tax arises. A proportionate exemp-tion is available in cases of par-tial investment. According to the I-T depart-ment, the tenancy agreement executed between the taxpayer and his family members was a colourable device created to avoid tax, as the property origi-nally belonged to family mem-bers and the tenancy was for-malised only shortly before redevelopment. However, Asher submitted that the tenancy existed since 2013 and was supported by rent receipts, electricity bills, and records from the Maharashtra Housing and Area Develop-ment Authority (Mhada), which recognised him as a tenant in the redevelopment scheme. ITAT took cognisance of the evidence showing that Asher had been occupying the premises as a tenant for seve-ral years. It held that surren-der of tenancy rights amounts to transfer of a capital asset. Accordingly, the tax tribunal ruled that the treatment of Rs 11.7 crore as ‘Income from other sources’ was not sustai-nable and that the taxpayer was entitled to claim exemption under Section 54F.

Panaji: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has asked for a detailed report from the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on match-fixing allegations in Goa that led to chargesheet being filed against 14 players and officials, including a police constable.Last month, the Goa Football Association’s integrity officer and retired deputy superintendent of police Sandesh Chodankar charge-sheeted 14 players and said “there is ample evidence of match-fixing”. The players are on the brink of facing suspensions and even life bans for their alleged roles in match-fixing in Goa Professional League, the top tier of football in Goa.Media reports of match-fixing in Goan football has been assessed by AFC, the governing body of Asian football.AFC has requested AIFF to provide a report on findings of the investigation, details of the process followed, details of any ongoing and/or completed administrative and/or disciplinary proceedings before AIFF and/or its judicial bodies in connection with the investigation.If the AIFF has not been involved in the investigation, AFC requested the federation to provide them with “the findings of the GFA investigation and an update on the current status of the matter, including any proceedings initiated or contemplated at GFA level.”GFA is understood to have already forwarded its investigation report to AIFF.Nine of the 14 suspected players are from Chapora Yuvak Sangh after club president Pravin Dabholkar filed a complaint that Akash Kudnekar, Krishnanath Shirodkar, Sachidanand Satelkar, Bhaskar Jalmi, Aman Govekar, Chaitan Dabholkar, Rohan Pednekar, Vinayak Rane and Akash Sanadi were involved in “match-fixing for monetary benefits”.According to the complaint, all of them had met a suspected match fixer— only identified as ‘masked man’ Sandy, arriving in a tinted car — a day before their Goa GPL clash against Clube de Salgaocar, where they were offered money to lose the game by three goals.For the past six years, international betting monitors like Sportradar and Genius Sports have told GFA about suspicious betting patterns in Goa Professional League which are indicative of match-fixing.

KOLHAPUR: A nine-year-old girl died, and her 11-year-old sister remains in a serious condition after their father allegedly hung them upside down from a metal bar on the roof of their tin-shed house for 14 hours, starting Wednesday evening, in Banpuri village of Sangli’s Atpadi tehsil.The police arrested the 35-year-old man on Thursday under BNS sections 103 and 109 for murder and attempt to murder. Late on Thursday night, Vinay Bahir, the assistant inspector of the Atpadi police station, said the process to file a complaint was on and the FIR would be registered soon after.Vipul Patil, the sub-divisional police officer of Vita division, said: “The uncle of the accused man, who lives nearby, had complained that the two girls had stolen money from his house. This led to a fight between two families. Thereafter, the accused man, to teach a lesson to his young daughters, hung them upside down from the metal bar of the roof. The girls were tied up from 5pm on Wednesday to 7am on Thursday. During this time, the man kept watch on the girls, and with a koyta (a sharp-edged tool) in hand, threatened his wife and father that he would kill them too if they intervened to release the girls.“Vipul Patil said that when both the girls fell unconscious, the family members, with the help of neighbours, took them to the local hospital. He said the nine-year-old died on the way to Pandharpur for further treatment. The 11-year-old was unconscious, and the doctors advised surgery. After that, she was shifted to Sangli.The police said the girls had allegedly stolen money to spend at a village fair.“The postmortem has been carried out, but we are waiting for the clinical analysis and histopathology reports. Only after that the exact cause of death can be ascertained,” said Vipul Patl.The police said the accused is a farmer and also trades livestock. He had five children — four daughters and a son. The two girls subjected to torture were the his third and fourth children.