NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday set the ball rolling for December 10 election of Executive Council of Indian Olympic Association by forwarding Justice L N Rao drafted new constitution, which proposes radical changes, for approval at the sports body’s general body meeting on November 10.
Accepting solicitor general Tushar Mehta’s suggestion for urgent circulation of the draft amendments to the IOA’s constitution crafted by Justice Rao after discussion with all stakeholders and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Hima Kohli allowed it be circulated and approved during the GBM of IOA on November 10. On SG’s request for suitable compensation for Justice Rao for the painstaking and detailed work, the SC asked the government/IOA to pay him Rs 25 lakhs besides suitable remuneration to a team of lawyers who assisted the former SC judge.
The SC said the elections to put in place a 15-member Executive Council including President and other officer bearers would be held on December 10 as per the new constitution. Again, accepting the SG’s suggestion, the bench ordered, “No other court shall entertain any petition relating to the amendment of the constitution of the IOA or to the election to the Executive Committee of the IOA. All objections shall be submitted by any person or party before this Court alone.”
The draft constitution says the Executive Council will have a President, a senior vice-president, two vice-presidents (one male and one female), two joint secretaries (one male, one female), six executive council members of which one male and one female would be from among sportspersons of outstanding merit (SOMs), and two representatives (one male and one female) elected by Athletes Commission from among its members.
None of the office bearers could be “office bearers of any other National Sports Federation, affiliated to IOA,” it said. The Executive Council would appoint a management professional, with at least 10 years’ experience in a company with turnover of at least Rs 25 crore, as IOA Secretary General/CEO for day-to-day administration. On appointment as CEO, the person “shall not engage in any other profession or employment and he would not be eligible for contesting as office bearer of IOA in future.
SOM is defined as any sportsperson, who has retired at least a year before filing nomination, who has won at least one medal – gold, silver or bronze, at either Olympics, Commonwealth Games or Asian Games while representing India.
The draft amendments ban voting by proxy. It bars anyone from contesting elections to any office bearers post if he/she is above 70 years, convicted and sentenced to more than two years imprisonment or against whom court has framed charges in an offence carrying a sentence of more than two years.
All office bearers would enjoy a four-year term. The amendments specified that an office bearer can be elected for consecutive terms, but he would then undergo a mandatory cooling period of four years if he wanted to contest for a third term, which would be his final innings in IOA executive council.
The amendments proposed an elaborate Ethics Committee comprising “seven independent members selected and proposed by a nomination committee prescribed under the IOA’s Code of Ethics and ratified by the general assembly”. The seven (at least three male and three female) would include four with legal background and one representative elected by IOA Athletes Commission.
The Justice Rao penned draft constitution also stipulated that state Olympic associations would bring their constitutions in tune with that of IOA’s and there should be no provision in the state unit’s constitution which contradicts that of IOA.
Accepting solicitor general Tushar Mehta’s suggestion for urgent circulation of the draft amendments to the IOA’s constitution crafted by Justice Rao after discussion with all stakeholders and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Hima Kohli allowed it be circulated and approved during the GBM of IOA on November 10. On SG’s request for suitable compensation for Justice Rao for the painstaking and detailed work, the SC asked the government/IOA to pay him Rs 25 lakhs besides suitable remuneration to a team of lawyers who assisted the former SC judge.
The SC said the elections to put in place a 15-member Executive Council including President and other officer bearers would be held on December 10 as per the new constitution. Again, accepting the SG’s suggestion, the bench ordered, “No other court shall entertain any petition relating to the amendment of the constitution of the IOA or to the election to the Executive Committee of the IOA. All objections shall be submitted by any person or party before this Court alone.”
The draft constitution says the Executive Council will have a President, a senior vice-president, two vice-presidents (one male and one female), two joint secretaries (one male, one female), six executive council members of which one male and one female would be from among sportspersons of outstanding merit (SOMs), and two representatives (one male and one female) elected by Athletes Commission from among its members.
None of the office bearers could be “office bearers of any other National Sports Federation, affiliated to IOA,” it said. The Executive Council would appoint a management professional, with at least 10 years’ experience in a company with turnover of at least Rs 25 crore, as IOA Secretary General/CEO for day-to-day administration. On appointment as CEO, the person “shall not engage in any other profession or employment and he would not be eligible for contesting as office bearer of IOA in future.
SOM is defined as any sportsperson, who has retired at least a year before filing nomination, who has won at least one medal – gold, silver or bronze, at either Olympics, Commonwealth Games or Asian Games while representing India.
The draft amendments ban voting by proxy. It bars anyone from contesting elections to any office bearers post if he/she is above 70 years, convicted and sentenced to more than two years imprisonment or against whom court has framed charges in an offence carrying a sentence of more than two years.
All office bearers would enjoy a four-year term. The amendments specified that an office bearer can be elected for consecutive terms, but he would then undergo a mandatory cooling period of four years if he wanted to contest for a third term, which would be his final innings in IOA executive council.
The amendments proposed an elaborate Ethics Committee comprising “seven independent members selected and proposed by a nomination committee prescribed under the IOA’s Code of Ethics and ratified by the general assembly”. The seven (at least three male and three female) would include four with legal background and one representative elected by IOA Athletes Commission.
The Justice Rao penned draft constitution also stipulated that state Olympic associations would bring their constitutions in tune with that of IOA’s and there should be no provision in the state unit’s constitution which contradicts that of IOA.
