NEW DELHI: A division Bench of the Delhi High Court Monday refused to stay an order by a single judge of the court that had restrained veteran sports administrator Narinder Batra from discharging any function as Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president.
A Bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad issued notice on an appeal by Batra challenging a single judge’s June 24 order which was passed in a contempt petition filed by Olympian and Hockey World Cup winner Aslam Sher Khan.
The Bench, which asked Batra’s counsel as to how the appeal was maintainable, issued notice to the Centre and Khan on the plea and listed it for further hearing on July 26.
When advocate Shyel Trehan, appearing for Batra, sought a stay on the order passed by the single judge, the Division Bench said, “No we are not staying it. Only on a technical issue we have issued a notice.”
The single judge Bench, while restraining Batra from discharging any functions in the IOA, had ruled that Anil Khanna, senior vice president, will take over the duties and responsibilities of the president.
The contempt petition filed against Batra is listed for further hearing on August 3.
On May 25, Batra was removed as IOA chief after the High Court struck down the post of ‘life member’ in Hockey India, courtesy of which he had contested and won the apex body elections back in 2017. By virtue of his being an HI ‘life member’, Batra is currently serving his second term as president of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
Khan had filed the contempt petition alleging that Batra was willfully disobeying and deliberately defying the May 25 order of the court by not resigning from the post of IOA president.
