Lt. Gen Devraj Anbu (retd.) of North Star Golf Association Jammu and Kashmir and Brijender Singh of Maharashtra State Golf Association emerged the only validly nominated candidates for the President and Vice-President’s posts respectively in the Indian Golf Union elections to be held on December 27.
Lt. Gen. Anbu, who has been holding office as ‘Acting’ President for at least a couple of years now, is on the cusp of becoming an elected President of the Indian Golf Union. The erstwhile Vice Chief of Army Staff, keen to secure the top position in golf administration, can heave a sigh of relief his nomination passed scrutiny.
Both he and Brijender Singh secured the nod from the Returning Officer, Justice (retd.) RK Gauba, who over-ruled objections against their nominations about the respective address that either candidate had given. The Returning Officer said that there was nothing required by the rules that needed a proof of address to be furnished.
In the opinion of the Returning Officer, it did not matter if retired officers of the Indian Army gave addresses of Military Stations where they could not be residents. “No exception can be taken if some of the candidates are using the address of the State Golf Associations which has nominated them as their representative in the electoral college,” Justice Gauba ruled.
“Neither the rules and regulations nor the model election code prescribe that a person cannot be a member of an SGA unless he is a domicile of the geographical area represented by such association… The deficiency, if any, is in the format prescribed by the model election code. It does not require a formal declaration by the candidate of his/her residential or work address,” he wrote.
From the list of valid nominations was posted on the IGU website, it is clear that there will be a contest between Asian Games gold medallist Amit Luthra and National Defence Academy Commandant Lt. Gen. Asit Mistry for the Honorary Secretary’s post and between Shyam Sundar and Ishwar Achanta for the Honorary Treasurer post.
Both Lt. Gen. Mistry and Ishwar Achanta got the Returning Officer’s stamp of approval after he over-ruled the objections raised against their nominations. Lt. Gen. Mistry’s nomination was opposed as he had not produced a No-Objection Certificate from the relevant superior officer while Ishwar Achanta’s nomination was objected to as he had already served two terms as office-bearer.
“I am not inclined to give any credence to the validity of the NOCs submitted by two of the candidates who are serving officers of the Indian Army. The Vice Chief of Army Staff definitely would be an officer superior not only in rank but also in position/appointment vis-à-vis each of them,” the Returning Officer ruled.
He also ruled that Ishwar Achanta continued in his role as Treasurer after 2018 only by force of the rules and not his own volition as an elected member since the elections slated for December 2018 were not completed due to a Court order. It did not matter that Ishwar Achanta was the only validly nominated candidate in that election.
It will be interesting to see what stance the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as well as the Indian Olympic Association take, especially on the Returning Officer’s ruling that the candidates need not provide proof of residence in the State which is nominating them to the IGU electoral college and on the continuation in office by force of rules rather than of a candidate’s own volition.
Mr Rajaram is doing a great job in reporting IGU matters.
The IGU is under the control of vested interests and going by the ruling will continue to do so
I would like to ask who has nominated the returning officer, who is paying his fee and how much is the fee. The credibility and validity of the returning officer appears highly questionable as all rulings are favouring the existing office bearers and the manipulation by Army officers. Shouldn’t the returning officer be balanced and impartial ?