Ongoing Discord Between IOA and IGU Persists

The Union sports ministry has backed the Brijender Singh-led group while the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has backed the Harish Shetty-led group in the Indian Golf Union (IGU) elections. 

The IGU and IOA were earlier in conflict over the appointment of a Returning Officer (RO) for the IGU elections, scheduled for December 15, 2024. Consequently, two parallel elections were conducted at different venues with separate ROs for the IGU’s Governing Council. 

The dispute arose when IGU’s General Council replaced Justice (Retd.) OP Garg of the Allahabad High Court with Justice (Retd.) Permod Kohli of the Sikkim High Court as RO. In response, IOA president PT Usha issued a directive to the IGU, insisting that Justice Garg remains the RO, emphasizing that his resignation was never formalized. Justice Garg had earlier suspended five army-controlled State Golf Associations (SGAs) for failing to provide necessary documents, a move he reversed within 24 hours. 

Following this, the IGU announced an indefinite postponement of elections, citing Justice Garg’s purported resignation, which was later contested. PT Usha criticized the IGU’s decision to appoint a second RO, citing concerns over governance and adherence to the IOC Charter. She had also highlighted a potential conflict of interest for Justice Kohli, who chaired the IOA’s Arbitration Commission.

A plea by the Bengal Golf Association for the removal of Justice Malik’s appointment as RO in the Delhi High Court was dismissed on December 13 so as not to disrupt the election process. The court stated that grievances or controversies should be raised after the elections, not during the process.

Post-elections, the IOA’s letter backed Shetty’s elections, stating that it had the “required quorum in accordance with Article 22 of the IGU rules.” However, Singh called the letter frivolous, citing that the IOA president lacked any authority to recognise or derecognize federation elections. The appointment of Justice Malik as RO was cleared by Delhi High Court and therefore cannot be nullified by the IOA.