NEW DELHI: The International Olympic Committee has advised the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to reschedule its December 19 elections in view of a pending case in the Delhi High Court but has urged the body to go ahead with its General Assembly on the same date, PTI reports.
In a letter to IOA president Narinder Batra, accessed by the newswire, the IOC said the elections should nonetheless take place before the end of January next year after requisite amendments in the IOA constitution.
“As things stand, we note that IOA elections can no longer be held on 19 December, 2021, as planned initially, due to the Court order. However, unless otherwise indicated in the court order, we understand that UOA General Assembly can still take place on 19 December, 2021, with other items in the agenda that are not related to elections,” IOC wrote to Batra in its communication.
The letter further stated: “The Elective general Assembly would then be rescheduled as early as possible and should take place by the end of January, 2022, at the latest, in order to respect the four-year electoral cycle, in accordance with the IOA Constitution and the Olympic Charter.
“We took note of the Court decision, which, of course, shall be respected. However it is unfortunate that such institutional and internal issues could not be addressed and resolved directly within the IOA.
“As you know, any potential proposal to amend the IOA Constitution should simply follow due process, as per IOA Constitution, and be submitted to the IOC for prior approval and to the IOA General Assembly for adoption.”
It bears noting that the Delhi High Court has stayed elections to the executive committee of the IOA on a plea by senior advocate Rahul Mehra.
Mehra, in his application, had submitted that the proposed elections to be held on December 19 were wholly illegal and unsustainable and ought not to be conducted pending the hearing.
