BANGALORE: The Karnataka high court on Saturday stayed the two-year AITA ban on tennis players Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna from representing the country till June 30, 2014 on disciplinary grounds.
Hearing a writ petition filed by the duo challenging the two-year ban imposed by All India Tennis Association, justice Mohan Shantanagoudar ordered issue of emergent notice to AITA and the sports ministry.
The judge also stayed the impugned decision of the AITA. Counsel Aditya Sondhi, representing the two players, submitted that the AITA decision was “arbitrary as it was taken without hearing them”.
Bhupathi had recently threatened to drag AITA to the court for ousting him from India’s Davis Cup squad along with Rohan Bopanna, saying he was exploring if the national tennis federation’s move was legal. AITA had taken the decision hours after India’s young Davis Cup team took an unassailable 3-0 lead against New Zealand in Chandigarh on September 15. (PTI)