Mohun Bagan took legal recourse and put its case to the City Civil Court, which passed an interim order on Wednesday restraining All India Football Federation from taking any decision without hearing the club.
Mohun Bagan, which a day earlier sent a letter to the national body explaining why it pulled out of the December 9 I-League match against East Bengal forcing the abandonment midway, on Wednesday took the legal route apparently to stall any immediate decision from the AIFF. With suggestions of an impending ban floating around and the AIFF announcing the deferment of Mohun Bagan’s 11th round match against Pailan Arrows (scheduled on December 15), the club moved the court.
The AIFF in its communication had said that Mohun Bagan’s 11th round match was “deferred till further notice’ as the “decision regarding the status and necessary actions arising under the I-League regulations regarding the match played on December 9, 2012 between Kingfisher East Bengal and McDowell Mohun Bagan is under consideration.”
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Mohun Bagan moved the court learning about the deferment and secured an interim order passed by the seventh Judge of City Civil Court, Sandip Kumar Chowdhury.
“The court in its interim order restrained the AIFF from taking any action against Mohun Bagan without giving a proper hearing to the club,” said Mohun Bagan’s lawyer Sourav Ganguly.
Sourav and his father Gitanath Ganguly, who is a senior Mohun Bagan official and lawyer, have taken up the club’s case.
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The interim order also restrained the AIFF from stopping Mohun Bagan from playing matches of the I-League till it hears the club and passes a decision.
The AIFF has not commented on this new development so far.