Chandigarh Olympic Association tenure ends, ‘administrator’ holds key to its future

Even as the tenure of the Chandigarh Olympic Association (COA) ends with the completion of this month, the process to elect a new house lingers on, awaiting a decision from the Deputy Commissioner appointed ‘administrator’.

A Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the Deputy Commissioner to appoint an ‘administrator’ for conducting the COA elections, and both parties appearing before the court of Justice Kuldeep Tiwari had agreed to hold the fresh election by March 2025 in compliance with the requisite rules and regulations of the COA, Indian Olympic Association and National Sports Development Code of India, 2011.

On January 17, while hearing a 2021 writ petition filed by former COA secretary Raghumit Singh Sodhi, the court of Justice Kuldeep Tiwari had ordered the appointment of an administrator for conducting the elections. The Deputy Commissioner took less than a month to appoint an ‘administrator’ for the same process. On February 10, Hari Kallikkat, Secretary Information Technology, was appointed ‘administrator’ for conducting the election of Chandigarh Olympic Association scheduled to be held in March 2025. He took charge of the society, and Sorabh Kumar Arora, Director Sports, Chandigarh, was appointed as assisting officer to the ‘administrator’. Meanwhile, Kallikkat remained unavailable to comment on the issue.

Thereafter, a meeting was held on March 18 with all local sports associations. While the officials took almost two months (from January 17 to March 18) to complete the process, the local sports fraternity awaits any update on the future of the controversial COA. The last tenure of the COA was scheduled to end in November 2020, but was extended owing to the Covid pandemic.

In March 2021, two separate elections (March 8 and March 17) were conducted by two COA factions in presence of the same ‘observer’ from the Indian Olympic Association. The last house elected on March 17, 2021, took the charge of the association for the next four years. In 2023, the house witnessed infighting and new members were added.

“The COA tenure has already ended. At present, the body (COA house) doesn’t exist except the ‘administrator’. It’s not easy to get all data from the previous COA office-bearers as a lot of wrongdoings had been allegedly committed in the past. The matter is likely to get an extension, and the COA is likely to be under the ‘administrator’ for quite some time,” said an office-bearer of a local sports association.

Mostly in bad books, the COA remains more of a political front revolving around sports associations and their office-bearers. The COA has conducted only one state game since its inspection in October, 2005.

Timeline

January 17: The court deems appropriate to direct the DC to appoint an ‘administrator’, but not below the rank of an all India service officer for conducting the elections of the body concerned. The ‘administrator’ shall conduct the election accordingly. After completion of elections, the administrator shall hand over the charge to the newly elected governing body.

February 10: In compliance of (above mentioned) orders issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the DC appointed Hari Kallikkat as the ‘administrator’ for conducting the election of COA in March 2025.

March 18: The ‘administrator’ calls a meeting of all sports associations through a public notice. After listening to all stakeholders, an email ID is issued, asking the stakeholders to submit their grievances and suggestions.