Indian Olympic Association today appointed Anil Dev Singh, retired Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, as the head of a three-member Election Commission to conduct its upcoming polls, in place of S Y Quraishi who has resigned from the post.
Justice (retd) Singh's appointment was made by IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra. Other members of the commission are Justice (retd) V K Bali, who is also the returning officer and Justice (retd) J D Kapur.
Quraishi had resigned after International Olympic Committee rejected the IOA Election Commission's decision to apply the Sports Code of the government in the polls, scheduled to be held on November 25. He said his conscience did not allow him to continue after IOA backtracked on its commitment to follow the Sports Code.
Malhotra said he had made it known to the IOC, in reply to the world body's yet another letter, that it was in a quandary regarding which framework to apply in the elections in view of Delhi High Court order that it can apply both the Sports Code and its constitution.
He said the IOA received another letter from the IOC directing that the elections must be conducted exclusively under the IOA constitution and the rules of the Olympic charter without any other interference.
"While the IOC is insisting that its charter and IOA constitution are paramount, the Government of India has formulated a Sports Code and it wants that IOA and National Sports Federations (NSF) should follow that code," Malhotra wrote in reply to the latest letter from the IOC.
"Sports Ministry has threatened that in case of the non compliance of Sports Code, it will withdraw its recognition to the concerned NSFs and even the IOA. The High Court of Delhi has directed the IOA that it should follow the Sports Code while conducting the elections. Defying the orders will lead to contempt of court," Malhotra wrote in his letter to the IOC.
"IOA finds itself in a quandary. It has no power to defy the High Court. It has to go by the law of the land. On the other hand there is insistence from the IOC to adhere to its charter and existing IOA constitution."
He said the Election Commission will now decide which framework would apply in the elections.
"We are at the crossroad, we find all three – Sports Code, IOC insistence and High Court directive are at variance with each other. We respect the IOC charter, are fully committed to the autonomy of the IOA and NSF and are also against the sports code of the Government, but we cannot go against the directives of the court of the Land."
"In any case We have set up a Election Commission consisting of three eminent jurists and now the ball is in their court," he said.
The Election Commission, under Quraishi, had earlier ruled that the polls should be held under the Sports Code of the government.