Water sports girl Bilquis Mir wins legal battle as JK High Court slams ACB

Bilquis Mir, India's sole female judge for kayaking and canoeing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has triumphed in her three-year legal battle to quash an FIR filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, with the Jammu and Kashmir High Court delivering a scathing indictment of authorities, saying "it seems that the people at the helm of affairs are leaving no stone unturned in harassing such talented people".

The court said the attitude of the ACB "in criminalising non-acquisition of a technical qualification" by Mir when she has brought laurels to the country from all over the world "speaks volumes about the manner in which we are treating our sporting heroes" and that the case appears to be "nothing but a witch-hunt launched against the petitioner by vested interests".

Mir still shudders recalling the moment, three years ago, when she learned from newspapers that the ACB had registered a case against her. "My dreams came crashing down and I could not understand what was my fault," she recounted to PTI, tears welling up.

The FIR, which the High Court quashed on Friday, claimed a verification was conducted into allegations that Mir, appointed as a physical education teacher, did not complete her Bachelor of Physical Education course during her probation.

The ACB had filed an FIR against Mir in 2023 under the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code, charging her with taking gratification beyond legal remuneration for official work and involvement in a criminal conspiracy.

This marked the beginning of Mir's agony. "When I decided to opt for kayaking, I did not have the money to buy a paddle for practising. I wore the India jersey at a time when terrorism was at its peak. Nothing deterred me, but this was a jolt I was not ready to take, and I decided to challenge it," she said.

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Mir's illustrious 28-year career began at the age of eight, and her achievements include representing India at the 2009 Canoeing and Kayaking World Cup in Hungary, where she finished eighth.

She was the first Indian woman appointed as a judge at the Asian Games (China) and served as national coach for the women's team in kayaking and canoeing for the London Olympics 2012.

Mir also holds the distinction of being the first Indian woman to earn an International Coaching Diploma from Budapest's Semmelweis University Institute of Coaching and Sport.

Her coaching roles extend to chief coach for the women's national team in the U23 Canoe Slalom World Championship (Italy 2018) and national coach for the 9th Asian Canoe Slalom Championship (Toyama, Japan 2016).

And what she terms as the peak of her career was the moment when she was selected as a judge for the Paris Olympics for which she had to fight and see a court order to catch a flight. "At times, I wanted to call it quits, but the fire in me to do something for the country always pushed me beyond limits," she recalled.

In a 20-page order, Justice Sanjay Dhar referred to a 16 February 2024 letter from the vice-president of the Indian Olympic Association to the chief secretary, highlighting the achievements of the petitioner by conveying that Mir's selection to officiate at the Olympics was a matter of pride not only for the country as a whole but Jammu and Kashmir in particular.

The court also referred to the communication that it was a celebration and triumph for all the women of India that she had achieved what no one else could in over a hundred years of the Olympics.

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Coming down heavily on the authorities, the court said this country has produced very few sports personalities and coaches of the level of Mir "and instead of honouring them and celebrating their achievements, it seems that the people at helm of affairs are leaving no stone unturned in harassing such talented people".

"No surprise that even after more than 75 years of independence, this country has failed to develop a sporting culture, as a consequence whereof, we have failed to produce sportsmen/women of international standards in proportion to our population," it said.

The court said the attitude of ACB in criminalising non-acquisition of a technical qualification" by Mir "speaks volumes about the manner in which we are treating our sporting heroes".

In the strongly-worded order, the court said it was "alarmed" to note that the ACB had even tried to go into the issue as to whether the answer scripts of Mir in her graduate examination had been properly evaluated by the examiners.

"This attitude" of ACB, the court said, "clearly smacks of wreaking vengeance upon the petitioner (Mir). The present case appears to be nothing but a witch-hunt launched against the petitioner by vested interests".

Invoking Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which deals with the inherent powers of a high court to prevent the abuse of the legal process and to secure the ends of justice, the court said the continuance of criminal proceedings against Mir in these circumstances would be nothing "but an abuse of process of law" and quashed the FIR.

"Now who should I hold responsible for this?" Mir said on her ordeal. She said she had wanted to quit but decided against it as it could discourage the next generation of women from coming forward. "My real victory," Mir stated, "is that 200 women from Kashmir are now practising this sport, even though the administration tried everything to crush my spirit."