Sirsa Club poll process under fire: Office-bearers move High Court

A group of Sirsa Club office-bearers has objected to the club’s ongoing election process, terming it unconstitutional and accusing the club secretary of misusing his authority. The group has filed a petition in the High Court, which is scheduled to be heard on November 27.

Addressing the media on Saturday, senior vice-president Suresh Sharma, assistant secretary Rajan Bawa and vice-president Ishu Bansal said the club has about 950 members. They alleged that although a proposal to increase membership was placed before the General Body Meeting, no decision was taken. Despite this, club secretary Rajesh Goyal ‘Lala’ allegedly enrolled 87 new members without approval.

They claimed the secretary failed to provide any clear explanation regarding the new enrolments and later announced the election dates without convening a house meeting. He also appointed an election officer on his own, they added. According to them, the club’s online portal continues to display only the old membership list and existing members have no details about those newly added.

The group said they approached the club president, who is also the Deputy Commissioner, seeking intervention. While the DC reportedly directed the registrar to examine the matter, no action followed. Repeated follow-ups with the DC and attempts to contact registrar Gaurav Sharma, who holds charge of three districts, also yielded no response. Left without a remedy, the members approached the court, arguing that elections conducted in this manner could face legal challenges and even be cancelled later.

Responding to the allegations, Sirsa Club secretary Rajesh Goyal said the election process is being conducted strictly as per the rules. He said an ad-hoc committee was constituted to supervise the entire process and termed the allegations against him “completely baseless”.