HC stays IOA's order to form boxing ad-hoc panel

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday stayed the appointment of an ad-hoc committee, constituted by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), to run the Boxing Federation of India's (BFI) affairs.
A single judge bench of Justice Sachin Datta granted two weeks' time to the IOA to file its reply to the petition and posted the matter for hearing on March 27.
The five-member ad-hoc panel was formed by IOA president PT Usha through an office order dated Feb 24 after the BFI failed to conduct its elections on schedule this year, while there were complaints from stakeholders regarding the non-participation of Indian boxers in various national and international competitions in recent months.
While passing the interim order to quash the ad-hoc committee, Justice Datta relied on a separate high court's judgment in the Bihar Olympic Association's (BOA) case in which the IOA's decision to constitute an ad-hoc body to run the affairs of the state body was set aside.
The BFI had approached the court challenging the IOA's decision to constitute an ad-hoc committee, pleading before the judge to uphold the federation's autonomy and sovereignty.
The BFI, through its counsel, argued that the IOA passed the decision "unilaterally" without giving prior notice which is a clear violation of principles of natural justice. The court was informed by the IOA counsel that a meeting has been scheduled on March 7 between BFI president Ajay Singh and the federation's other office bearers to resolve the election issue.
Earlier, Singh, BFI secretary general Hemanta Kalita and treasurer Digvijay Singh put up a united front and came up with a jointly signed letter addressed to Usha, informing her that the election process will be completed within the next 45 days.
"BFI remains a unified and well functioning body, with its members working together harmoniously to promote and develop boxing across the country. We had already initiated the process for conducting elections. This process will be completed in a fair and transparent manner within the next 45 days," the letter said.