New Delhi: The controversial Indian Golf Union (IGU) election has reached the doorstep of the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) Ethics Commission. IGU executive council member R Shyam Sunder has filed a complaint before the Ethics Commission against IOA president PT Usha for “interfering” in its election process in “blatant violation of the IOA constitution and IOC charter.”

Sunder, who is chairman of the Technical, Rules, and Amateur Status Committee of the IGU, has written to Justice (retd) Kailash Gambir, who heads the seven-member independent IOA Ethics Commission, alleging that Usha has shown “undue favouritism” towards returning officer justice (retd) OP Garg and has taken interest in IGU’s election with the “sole motive to support one group.”

The IGU election, scheduled on December 15, has come under the scanner after five state golf associations (SGAs) were found ineligible to vote by the Garg. They were later reinstated by Garg after they made a representation. However, IGU president Brijender Singh on November 28 informed the council members that Garg had resigned, following which he postponed the elections.

IGU then appointed retired Sikkim High Court judge Permod Kohli as RO. However, Usha sought an explanation from Singh on the postponement of the election and questioned Kohli’s appointment as RO.

“The resignation of the first Returning Officer prompted the Governing Body of the IGU to appoint a new Returning Officer. Most troubling is the conduct of the President of the IOA, who, without any lawful authority, has shown undue favouritism toward the old Returning Officer by issuing a series of letters interfering in the IGU’s autonomous functioning. This unwarranted intervention undermines the integrity of the electoral process and is both unethical and illegal and a blatant violation of established norms,” Sunder wrote in his complaint to IOA Ethics Commissions on Wednesday, a copy of which is with the HT.

He said IOA cannot interfere in the election process of IGU which is a separate legal entity. “Such an interference is being done with a sole motive to support one group. It is besides being prima facie unethical but also a clear violation of the IOC Charter. Therefore, this interference must be investigated by the Ethics Commission.”

“It is therefore abundantly clear that Dr. P.T Usha had no power to issue that letter. Pertinently, there is no direction or resolution from the Executive Committee of the IOA to issue such a letter or interfere in the election process of an NSF,” he said referring to the IOA constitution (article 28.2) on the autonomy of NSFs.

Usha had, on Wednesday, written to Kohli, raising the issue of “potential conflict” in accepting the role of RO in an NSF as he is also the chairman of the IOA’s Arbitration Commission. She also said that Garg has made it amply clear that he continues to be the RO of IGU elections as on Nov 30th and there was no reason to appoint a separate RO.

Fresh twist in IGU polls

Meanwhile, in a fresh twist to the elections, IGU appointed a new returning officer R Malik — retired judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court — with Kohli also resigning from the post. This is the third RO to be appointed in the IGU elections. However, Garg wrote to SGAs claiming that he has not resigned and has taken all possible steps to bring the election to its logical conclusion. He called the appointment of R Malik a “shocking, unfair and legally outrageous step.”