The Madras High Court has allowed the Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy Chettiar of Chettinad Charitable Trust to participate in the Classic race (South India Oaks) to be held on January 1, 2020, overturning a ban order passed by the Madras Race Club (MRC) against it.
The Stewards had passed an order preventing the Trust, represented by its managing trustee A.C. Muthiah, from taking part in all races beginning January 1, especially the Classic race on that day.
In its affidavit, the Trust, represented by senior counsel R. Srinivas and Sithiraianandam Sampath, submitted before the court that the Stewards, without issuing a notice or giving a hearing to the Trust, had made it ineligible to participate in the races and cancelled all its entries. This was based on a complaint given to the Stewards Committee by M.A.M.R. Muthiah, who became the MRC chairman on November 20.
The affidavit stated that M.A.M.R. Muthiah in his complaint had claimed that the horses belonging to M.A.M. Ramaswamy were unauthorisedly and unlawfully transferred on the latter’s death and these were not approved by the Stewards.
The Trust submitted that most of the horses presently owned by it were purchased by it and the transfers registered, under the MRC rules of racing, were approved and accepted. “The Applicant (Charitable Trust) states it owns about 70 horses which have been registered as the horses of this Trust. Out of this only about five horses have been transferred from the Late Mr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy Trust,” it said.
Apart from horses being raced in the MRC, the Trust owns and races horses in centres such as Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata where it has been racing for the last four years in the Trust’s name and has also been recognised by these turf clubs.
The Trust said it had sought an interim stay with the MRC against the order passed by the Stewards, but a hearing on it was posted for January 1 at 6 p.m. by which time the Classic race would have been completed without its horses being allowed to participate.
“This shows that the MRC’s enquiry and appeal procedure are all farce and mere eyewash,” the Trust submitted and sought an interim injunction on the ban imposed on it by the club.
In its order, the High Court said the trust can participate in the Classic race (SI Oaks) to be held on January 1, 2020, by donning a neutral colour. The case will be further heard on January 3.
