Indian Olympic Association awaits Delhi High Court verdict on election

“We expect the elections to be held in the next three or four months’’, said IOA acting president Anil Khanna.

FILE PHOTO: A view of the Delhi High court.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) awaits the Delhi High Court verdict on August 16 to spell out a road map for its election.

The acting president of the IOA, Anil Khanna, said that the court had not given permission, on IOA’s request, to hold the adjourned Annual General Meeting and other related meetings.

The IOA has also sought a meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to make matters clear. The IOA president, along with secretary general Rajeev Mehta and treasurer Anandeshwar Pandey, are scheduled to visit the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne on September 1 and 2 to speed up the matter.

‘’We have a right to be heard. We expect the elections to be held in the next three or four months’’, said Anil Khanna.

‘’The honourable courts had to step in as there were major differences internally within the IOA regarding electoral rolls and non-compliance of IOA Constitution, as already approved by IOC and the law of the land. The electoral college has to be clean. IOA will ensure this before elections are held as per time lines to be reached in consultation with the IOC and OCA’’, stated Anil Khanna.

During the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, IOA officials interacted with the IOC and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) officials in an attempt to provide clarity to the situation. Thus, the IOA expects to have a robust Constitution soon, in compliance with the Sports Code as well as the law of the land, and ‘’duly approved by the IOC’’.

The IOA election will also be conducted under the supervision of observers from IOC and OCA, among others.