CHENNAI: In what seems to be a new twist to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) annual general meeting on December 19, the venue had to be shifted after the Delhi High Court intervention on Friday. The special bench of justices Manmohan and Najmi Waziri asked the venue to be shifted from Guwahati to New Delhi.
The order was passed after sports lawyer Rahul Mehra had moved a petition requesting the court to stall elections that was supposed to be held on the same day. He also told the court that the IOA has been conducting elections in violation of sports code and its constitution should be brought in line with the sports code and the law of the land. Everyone is waiting for more clarity.
The rift between IOA president, Narinder Batra, and secretary general, Rajeev Mehta, is reflected in the way their supporters are looking at the court directive. The Mehta camp has welcomed the decision and felt it was in their favour. However, the Batra camp thought venue was shifted for reasons other than just being held in Guwahati at the behest of the president. Since time for the AGM is very little, there would have been logistical issues in finding a retired judge and sending him to Guwahati.
According to some IOA officials, the court has asked them to conduct the meeting with a retired judge appointed by the court overseeing it. However, the Mehta camp feels the meeting would be held under an administrator, who would also finalise the list of members who can vote. The main agenda of the AGM would be to amend its constitution and align it with the sports code, IOC Charter and the law of the land.
Mehra had pleaded that the IOA constitution has been in violation with the sports code. The primary issues raised by Mehra was age and tenure issue, restrictive and undemocratic clause that bar members form contesting elections.
According to Mehra, age and tenure need to be followed. Interestingly, the petition also says that the secretary general and the sports ministry “themselves stated on affidavit that the elections as called for cannot be sustained being based on provisions that are illegal and contrary to the Sports Code”.