IOA appoints new Election Commission chief

Justice (retd) Singh's appointment was made by IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra. Other members of the commission are Justice (retd) V K Bali, who is also the returning officer and Justice (retd) J D Kapur.

Quraishi had resigned after International Olympic Committee rejected the IOA Election Commission's decision to apply the Sports Code of the government in the polls, scheduled to be held on November 25. He said his conscience did not allow him to continue after IOA backtracked on its commitment to follow the Sports Code.

Malhotra said he had made it known to the IOC, in reply to the world body's yet another letter, that it was in a quandary regarding which framework to apply in the elections in view of Delhi High Court order that it can apply both the Sports Code and its constitution.

He said the IOA received another letter from the IOC directing that the elections must be conducted exclusively under the IOA constitution and the rules of the Olympic charter without any other interference.

"While the IOC is insisting that its charter and IOA constitution are paramount, the Government of India has formulated a Sports Code and it wants that IOA and National Sports Federations (NSF) should follow that code," Malhotra wrote in reply to the latest letter from the IOC. MORE