NEW DELHI: The Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) AGM will take place on Sunday in the national capital and not in Guwahati as originally proposed in the IOA’s election notification issued in mid-November, the Delhi High Court ruled on Friday.
This will come as a setback to the ruling dispensation, led by president Narinder Dhruv Batra, who, along with his group of loyalists, wanted to convene the AGM in the Assamese capital.
The two-judge special bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Najmi Waziri also directed the AGM to take up matters related only to sports reforms in the IOA and nothing on elections. The bench appointed a retired judge to oversee the conduct of the AGM and told the concerned parties that the meeting has to be held at the IOA Bhawan in Delhi. The bench will further hear the matter on December 23.
Earlier, the court had directed an interim stay on the IOA’s elections in its November 30 order and has, since then, maintained status quo. The four-year term of the current IOA office-bearers ended on December 14. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has directed the sports body to conduct their elections latest by January 2022.
Lawyer and sports activist Rahul Mehra, who has challenged the conduct of the IOA elections in the court contending that the electoral process is “wholly illegal and unsustainable” in violation of the national sports code, told TOI on Friday that he has suggested forming a three-member committee to run the affairs of the IOA.
“Today, during the hearing, I requested the bench to appoint a committee of administrators that could take over IOA till the time elections are done. The bench said that it will think about the committee. The bench then asked me ‘who do you all think should be in the committee?’. To which I replied (that) it should consist of former sports secretary Injeti Srinivas, (Olympic champion shooter) Abhinav Bindra and any retired Supreme Court/ High Court judge in whom you (the bench) have confidence,’ Mehra said.
The AGM is expected to be a stormy affair with supporters of both Batra and IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta looking to charge each other with allegations of misgovernance and financial irregularities. There’s a possibility where the IOA might bring some changes to its constitution, including removal of the restrictive clauses and aligning it with the sports code.
According to the present IOA constitution, the national sports federations (NSFs) have three votes, state Olympic associations have two and the union territories have one vote each. There could be some changes proposed to the electoral college in the meeting.
All the modifications/ratifications in the IOA constitution will have to be pre-approved by the IOC before adopting them in totality.
This will come as a setback to the ruling dispensation, led by president Narinder Dhruv Batra, who, along with his group of loyalists, wanted to convene the AGM in the Assamese capital.
The two-judge special bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Najmi Waziri also directed the AGM to take up matters related only to sports reforms in the IOA and nothing on elections. The bench appointed a retired judge to oversee the conduct of the AGM and told the concerned parties that the meeting has to be held at the IOA Bhawan in Delhi. The bench will further hear the matter on December 23.
Earlier, the court had directed an interim stay on the IOA’s elections in its November 30 order and has, since then, maintained status quo. The four-year term of the current IOA office-bearers ended on December 14. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has directed the sports body to conduct their elections latest by January 2022.
Lawyer and sports activist Rahul Mehra, who has challenged the conduct of the IOA elections in the court contending that the electoral process is “wholly illegal and unsustainable” in violation of the national sports code, told TOI on Friday that he has suggested forming a three-member committee to run the affairs of the IOA.
“Today, during the hearing, I requested the bench to appoint a committee of administrators that could take over IOA till the time elections are done. The bench said that it will think about the committee. The bench then asked me ‘who do you all think should be in the committee?’. To which I replied (that) it should consist of former sports secretary Injeti Srinivas, (Olympic champion shooter) Abhinav Bindra and any retired Supreme Court/ High Court judge in whom you (the bench) have confidence,’ Mehra said.
The AGM is expected to be a stormy affair with supporters of both Batra and IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta looking to charge each other with allegations of misgovernance and financial irregularities. There’s a possibility where the IOA might bring some changes to its constitution, including removal of the restrictive clauses and aligning it with the sports code.
According to the present IOA constitution, the national sports federations (NSFs) have three votes, state Olympic associations have two and the union territories have one vote each. There could be some changes proposed to the electoral college in the meeting.
All the modifications/ratifications in the IOA constitution will have to be pre-approved by the IOC before adopting them in totality.
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