NEW DELHI: The Centre is set to amend the National Anti-Doping Act, 2025, with the proposed changes likely to be introduced during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament, as India continues to top the Athletics Integrity Unit's (AIU) global list of doping offenders, sources familiar with the development said.
The amendments seek to crack down on trafficking and organised supply of prohibited substances while keeping athletes outside the ambit of criminal prosecution for anti-doping rule violations alone.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has placed the draft amendments in the public domain for stakeholder consultation.
The proposed framework seeks to criminalise organised doping-related activities and dismantle networks involved in the trafficking, illegal supply, administration and commercial distribution of performance-enhancing prohibited substances and methods.
Under the proposed amendments, offences such as trafficking, unauthorised sale and distribution of banned substances, administering prohibited substances to athletes for doping, supplying such substances to minors, organised criminal activities linked to doping, sale of prohibited substances without prescribed labelling, and advertisements or paid promotions promoting doping would become punishable under law.
The proposed provisions are aimed at illegal suppliers and organised criminal syndicates rather than sportspersons, a senior government source said.
Athletes will not be treated as criminals merely for testing positive or violating anti-doping rules. Unless they are found to be involved in offences such as trafficking or organised crime, which officials described as likely to be "rare cases", their cases will continue to be dealt with under the existing anti-doping framework, the source said.
Sources said punishments would be in accordance with the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), depending on the nature and gravity of the offence. Under the proposed framework, trafficking and distribution of prohibited substances to athletes could attract a prison term of up to five years.
"The objective is to break the organised supply chain behind doping rather than criminalise athletes who are already subject to sporting sanctions," a source said.
The move comes after the AIU's latest sanctions list once again placed India at the top globally, with 162 athletes and support personnel serving sanctions, ahead of Kenya (148) and Russia (60).
The AIU list includes sanctions arising not only from positive tests but also from violations such as tampering with samples, evading testing, trafficking and whereabouts failures.
Officials said the amendments are intended to strengthen India's anti-doping regime by aligning it more closely with international standards, enhancing institutional independence, improving procedural clarity and ensuring faster and legally robust adjudication of doping-related disputes.
The parent legislation was enacted to give domestic legal effect to India's obligations under the UNESCO Convention against Doping in Sport. The proposed amendments are aimed at further enhancing the credibility of India's anti-doping framework.
