Delhi HC seeks IOA’s stand on plea by Ski and Snowboard India

IOA has put an ad-hoc committee to run the winter sports federation having received complaints of administrative mismanagement.

New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Wednesday refused to immediately stay the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) order of constituting an ad hoc committee to run the affairs of Ski and Snowboard India (SSI).

The IOA had received various complaints of administrative mismanagement in the winter sports federation (AP)

The court, however, sought IOA’s response and fixed May 19 as the next date of hearing.

The IOA issued an order to constitute a four-member ad hoc committee, headed by six-time winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan, having received various complaints of administrative mismanagement in the winter sports federation.

The committee, constituted on October 16, was granted the responsibility of conducting the elections to the Executive Committee and managing the federation’s affairs.

A bench of justice Sachin Datta passed the order after the federation’s counsel Neha Singh urged the court to stay IOA’s decision, asserting that SSI received an email on March 12 from the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, stating that it did not have any official confirmation from the Union Sports Ministry regarding the federation’s official recognition.

“Considering that the impugned order is of October, 2023, this court is not inclined to pass the stay order without hearing the parties. I’ll hear it after six weeks. You now want a stay?” justice Datta said Singh.

In its petition, SSI stated that the order was passed in violation of the IOA constitution without affording it an opportunity of being heard. It went on to add that IOA did not have a valid ground to issue the order, since its elections were conducted in the presence of observers appointed by the IOA’s executive committee. It said the ad hoc committee since taking over has not made any attempts to conduct elections.

“That it is pertinent to mention that the illegally, arbitrarily and unilaterally formed ad hoc committee for the petitioner has not made any attempts to conduct elections in the last 1.5 years and has neither adhered to the directions of involving any Judges of the Hon’ble Supreme Court or any High Court as directed in the impugned order. Therefore, the conduct of the illegally formed ad hoc Committee is sufficient to prove the ill-intentions of the said committee to replace the Petitioner without conducting any elections for an indefinite period,” the plea added.

In its plea, the federation has also sought for restoration of the elected body.

While, the IOA’s counsel opposed the plea stating that the federation was not a recognised National Sports Federation (NSF).