Hockey elections deferred again

By Tushar Bhaduri in New Delhi

Latest Rajasthan high court order ‘stalls’ process

THE ill- fated Hockey India elections were deferred once again after an order from the Rajasthan high court.

The polls to the national body, already postponed more than once, were scheduled for February 7, after the court slapped a stay on the affiliation of 30 state units and four institutions and boards.

The legal advice received by returning officer GS Mander prompted the federation to defer the polls. The decision was taken at an urgent meeting of Hockey India members.

“ The honorable court has stayed the operation of the minutes of the meeting dated January 11, 2010 in which 30 states/ union territories and four institutions/ boards were granted affiliation,” Hockey India said in a release.

“ Hockey India referred the matter to the returning officer GS Mander, along with copy of the said order and minutes. The returning officer, after taking legal advice, has directed Hockey India to defer the elections till the final decision is taken by the honorable Rajasthan high court, because the entire electoral college of Hockey India has been stayed.” Hockey India secretary general Narinder Batra said the petition in Jaipur may have been filed by some disgruntled elements.

“ We had given affiliation to a state body in Rajasthan and it may be some other group which filed the petition. We had also got approval from the International Hockey Federation ( FIH) for our list,” Batra told M AIL T ODAY . Arun Saraswat and Shobha Singh were named to represent Hockey Rajasthan in the February 7 elections.

The bench, headed by Justice RS Chauhan, has asked Hockey India to respond within four weeks.

“ As the whole affiliation process was stayed, the returning officer recommended that we defer the polls, otherwise we would be guilty of contempt of court,” Batra said.

“ We don’t have a voter list and can’t proceed with nominations, throwing the whole process haywire.

We will now have to issue a fresh notice for the elections.” Batra claimed Hockey India’s affiliation process was “ open and transparent”. “ The units were recognised by the respective state Olympic associations and also the government observer. The minutes of meetings were also appraised and approved.” When contacted, government observer SK Mendiratta said he went by Hockey India’s recommendations.

“ I don’t know any members whose names were suggested.

I only acted upon the certificate provided by Hockey India that the individuals recommended were members of their respective state bodies and boards,” he told M AIL T ODAY . There is no chance of deciding on a new date for elections but Hockey India will try to get the stay vacated.

“ We can only move the court on January 27 after the Republic Day break. We would like a hearing at the earliest, but the matter is not in our hands. The petitioner has chosen the date very smartly to give us less time,” Batra said.

“ The fact that most of the lawyers are out of town also does not help.” The court has given Hockey India, headed by interim president Vidya Stokes, time till February 17 for the reply. “ We may ask either for an urgent hearing or a double bench,” he said, adding the FIH, Mendiratta and the sports ministry have been informed about the development.

The world body wants an elected body to be in place before the February 28- March 13 World Cup which will be held in the Capital. But the latest event puts that in doubt.

“ We can’t do anything about a court order. In any case, the World Cup is an issue handled by the FIH and the Indian Olympic Association,” Batra said.

According to the FIH constitution, a country without a properly- elected hockey body cannot