New Delhi [India], May 6 (ANI): The Delhi High Court has appointed a retired High Court Judge as the Court Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer for holding the elections to the executive committee of the Taekwondo Federation of India.
The court said it would be in the interest of the sport to direct the holding of fresh elections to the executive committee of the Taekwondo Federation of India so as to enable the Union of India to take expeditious steps for recognizing a suitable federation as the National Sports Federation for the sport of Taekwondo.
The bench of Justice Rekha Palli, in an order passed on April 28, said that “the writ petition, therefore, deserves to be allowed by appointing a Court Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer for the purpose of conducting elections for the executive committee of the Taekwondo Federation of India.
With the consent of the parties, the writ petition along with all pending applications is accordingly allowed.
The court was hearing the petition preferred by two players in the sport of Taekwondo and sought a direction from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to conduct elections for the Executive Committee of the Taekwondo Federation of India as per the electoral college prepared by the Justice R.S.Sodhi (Retd.) on May 4, 2016, in compliance of this Court’s order dated March 13, 2016.
Justice Rekha Palli, in the order, said, “Before I conclude in order to safeguard the interests of the players, it would be necessary to pass orders to ensure the selection of the Indian team/players to represent the country in international Taekwondo events till such time when a duly elected federation is appointed as the National Sports Federation by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.”
“It is the common case of the parties that vide its communication dated September 11, 2015, the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs had directed the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to carry out the selections of the Taekwondo team to represent the country which directions have been reiterated as recently as on April 5, 2022, and April 20, 2022.
Keeping in view the fact that the SAI appears to have not taken its responsibility seriously in the recent past, it would be in the interest of justice to direct the SAI to make a timely selection of players for representing the country in international events of Taekwondo for representing the country by consulting one of the three renowned players of taekwondo, whose names have been unanimously suggested by the parties which are Rakesh Singh, Sandeep Kundu, Seema Deswal, said the order.
Once the elections of the Taekwondo Federation of India are held in accordance with this order, it is expected that the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports will take expeditious steps to recognise a suitable federation as the National Sports Federation for the sport of Taekwondo, the order said further. (ANI)