Court rejects Azharuddin’s plea

Former cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s bid to unseat Badminton Association of India’s long-standing president, VK Verma, received a setback on Friday after an Andhra Pradesh court refused to give a stay order on BAI’s election in Chennai.

Former cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s bid to unseat Badminton Association of India’s long-standing president, VK Verma, received a setback on Friday after an Andhra Pradesh court refused to give a stay order on BAI’s election in Chennai on Sunday.

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The Azharuddin camp had approached the sessions court in Andhra Pradesh’s Rangareddy district seeking a stay on the election but their plea was rejected after three hours of argument.

A jubilant Verma hailed the court order and said it had cleared the deck for his “unanimous election” on Sunday. “The Azharuddin-camp saw the writing on the wall and sought this stay order as a last-minute gamble. We had already taken a caveat not only in Andhra Pradesh but also in Chennai and we are happy with the verdict.”