Plea against Bharat Ratna for Sachin

Chennai: An advocate has approached the Madras High Court, challenging the conferment of Bharat Ratna on cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and scientist C. N. R. Rao without following the rules and regulations relating to the award.

When the PIL filed by N Kanakasabai came up for admission before chief justice R K Agrawal and Justice M Sathyanarayanan, additional solicitor general P. Wilson opposed admission of the PIL and submitted that the Union government has already amended the presidential notification enabling the sportspersons also to be eligible for conferment of Bharat Ratna award and he would produce a copy of the amended presidential notification.

Following this, the bench adjourned to December 2, further hearing of the PIL, which sought to restrain the union government from presenting the award to Prof C N R Rao and Sachin Tendulkar on January 26, 2014. It also sought to declare the recommendation of the two names as illegal and quash it. Petitioner’s counsel K Umesh Rao submitted that Bharat Ratna was formally instituted by the President in January 1954 by way of presidential notification, which was subsequently superseded by another notification in 1955, which was the only piece of literature, which regulates Bharat Ratna award.