Amnesty, FIR & ban part of Draft Bill to counter age-fraud in Indian sport | Sport-others News

A one-time amnesty for age-cheaters, FIRs for a second age- fraud, a secure whleblower platform to report such violations, compliance officers in every state, and ID cards with QR codes that act as age proof: these are some of the features led in the draft National Code Against Age Fraud in Sports (NCAAFS) 2025 to take on this particular menace in Indian sport.
Age fraud has been one of the biggest problems facing Indian sports for a long time. The Draft NCAAFS 2025 was made public the Minry of Youth Affairs and Sports on Wednesday in a bid to invite comments and suggestions from the general public and stakeholders till March 31.
The Draft Bill states that for a first violation, athletes could face a two-year ban across all competitions besides forfeiture of the medals, titles, and benefits earned fraudulently. For the second one, an athlete will face a permanent ban from competitive sports, besides having an FIR regered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
Story continues below this ad

However, the draft does not mention FIRs against coaches and officials who are deemed to have facilitated or concealed age fraud. Instead, coaches will be suspended and could face a two-year ban for the first confirmed violation and a lifetime debarment from any role within a National Sports Federation (NSF) for a second violation.
Interestingly, the Draft NCAAFS 2025 introduces an amnesty scheme for athletes, allowing them to admit their correct age within six months of the policy implementation, which would help them avoid penalties. These athletes would then be subjected to a performance review before re-adjusting them in the appropriate age-group.
The draft bill also introduces a whleblower mechanism, where a secure platform will be created to report instances of age fraud. The draft adds: “A whleblower mechanism shall be implemented with a fee of Rs 5,000. In cases where the complaint is found to be false or frivolous, the fee may be forfeited. However, if the complaint is found to be true, the fee shall be fully refunded, and the whleblower shall receive an incentive of Rs 2,000 as a reward for reporting the violation.”
As per the draft code, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and sports federations will designate region/state-wise nodal officers to oversee the process of document verification. SAI and NSFs — while admitting athletes into sports promotion schemes, or while regering a new athlete to participate in an event — shall require them to submit the three mandatory documents for age verification: birth certificate, school transfer/school leaving/matriculation certificate, and aadhaar card/APAAR ID/voter ID/driving licence/ passport/PAN card. The draft said that in cases where any document was missing or there was doubt regarding the genuineness of a document, the nodal officer shall refer the athlete for a medical examination.Story continues below this ad
In this examination for age verification, athletes will have to undergo a general physical examination, dental exam and a radiological examination. In the physical examination, the doctors will have to record details of the athlete like the dance between the tips of the shoulder blades, forearm circumference in males/mid-thigh circumference in females, and hoarseness of voice.

Amit Kamath is Assant Editor at The Indian Express and is based in Mumbai. … Read More

© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd

Expand