HC asks sports authorities to shift annual general body meeting from Guwahati to Delhi

The Delhi High Court on Friday asked sports authorities to shift the venue of the Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) annual general body meeting from Guwahati to the national capital.

A special bench of justices, Manmohan and Najmi Waziri also appointed a retired judge as the administrator of the meeting. The court listed the matter for further hearing on December 23.

The High Court had earlier directed to maintain status quo on elections to the Executive Committee of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

The Court was hearing an application filed by senior advocate Rahul Mehra. He said that proposed purported elections to be held on December 19, 2021, are wholly illegal and unsustainable, and ought to not be conducted amid the pending hearing and final disposal of the petition and various applications.

In his application, the senior advocate has expressed concerns and said that IndianOlympic Association has notified its elections and is proposing to hold the same in violation of the orders of this Court, the law of the land, the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011 ("Sports Code"), the Olympic Charter, and the various directives and views of the government.

In particular, the petitioner has sought directions against the Central government to refrain from acting arbitrarily or indulging in inaction in abject violation and desertion of its duties.

"It is submitted that the present Application has hence been necessitated merely to place on record the Petitioner's specific challenge to the purported election process that is stated to have commenced, in order that the Respondents, in particular, the Respondent No. 4 does not subsequently raise technical objections against any submissions made by the Petitioner or any orders passed by this Hon'ble Court," read the petition.

Mehra has also sought to pass an order preponing the hearing in the petition from the date already fixed to the date of hearing of the present application, so as to hear and dispose of all pending applications as well as the petition.

The petitioner has also urged the Delhi HC to direct the respondent IOA to reschedule its elections fixed for December 19 and further to conduct its elections only at New Delhi, and only after incorporating amendments in its constitution to bring it in compliance with the orders of the High Court, the Sports Code, the judgement of the Indian Olympic Association, the Olympic Charter and the views and affidavits of the Centre as an order of the high court.

( With inputs from ANI )

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