SC refuses to take up Archery body's infighting issue

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider a plea related to infighting of Archery Association of India office-bearers who acted as the Committee of Administrators over the schedule for fresh polls, saying there was nothing urgent in the matter.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Aniruddha Bose said the application in this regard would be taken up on reopening of the courts in July.

Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar pointed to infighting in the CoA and other members of the Archery Association. He said the elections were set to take place in keeping with the May judgment of the apex court. The members of the CoA then fought among themselves and gave different schedules. He said the matter was required to be considered urgently.

Rejecting his plea, the bench said, “The constitution of the Archery Association is not something earth-shaking. Your perception of urgency may not impress us.”

Sports enthusiast and advocate Rahul Mehra opposed the plea for an urgent hearing. The issue of polls at the AAI and the appointment of an administrator before the top court had risen out of the Delhi High Court's orders of Aug. 10, 2017, passed on Mehra's petition.

In its judgement on a batch of petitions filed by the Maharashtra Archery Association and others, the top court had on May 1 directed that fresh polls be held within four weeks. It had also directed the elected body to continue as the Committee of Administrators till fresh polls are completed.

The court had then declared as illegal the amendments brought into the constitution of the sports body by a court-appointed administrator, former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quaraishi.

It had relieved Quaraishi of the charge, saying, “all steps taken by the administrator on the basis his constitution, and the elections conducted on December 22, 2018, are null and void and non-est in law”.