Amnesty scheme, FIRs, bans and whistleblower platform: How India is trying to counter age-fraud in sport in new proposed legislation

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 registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

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 whistleblower mechanism, where a secure platform will be created to report instances of age fraud. The draft adds: “A whistleblower 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 whistleblower 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 registering 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.

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 distance between the tips of the shoulder blades, forearm circumference in males/mid-thigh circumference in females, and hoarseness of voice.