The Supreme Court on Thursday approved a fresh timeline submitted by retired Justice L Nageshwara Rao for holding the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) executive committee elections in a special hearing on Thursday, November 3.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli has given the go-ahead for the elections to be held on December 10 and also permitted distribution of the draft constitution among IOA members, allowing it to be adopted at the Annual General Body (AGM) meeting slated for November 10.

As per the rules, the resolution to be discussed will have to be circulated among the members seven days ahead of the AGM — that's today.

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Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also informed the bench that Justice Rao had taken everyone on board, including the International Olympuc Committee (IOC), before finalising the draft amended constitution.

In September the IOC had issued a ‘final warning’ to the IOA to conduct its elections at the earliest or face a suspension, giving the national body time until December 2022. The IOA’s elections were originally meant to be held in December 2021 but was delayed by a governance crisis.

This led to the appointment of Justice Rao by the Supreme Court in September to lead the task of amending the Constitution of IOA and resolving its governance issues, failing which the world sports body would ban the IOA.

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The SC has now also restrained the courts across the country from entertaining any petition with regard to the draft constitution or the proposed executive committee elections, and said all such petitions will be taken up by it directly.

The bench fixed Rs 20 lakh remuneration to Justice Rao for undertaking a comprehensive exercise of preparing the draft constitution, and said he will also chalk out the modalities for circulation of the draft constitution among members of the IOA.

“The Solicitor General has stated that Justice Nageswara Rao has indicated that he would perform the task which has been assigned by this court pro bono. The Solicitor General fairly states that having regard to the magnitude of the task and the efforts which have been put in, it would be appropriate if an honorarium is paid to the judge," stated the SC bench.

(With PTI inputs)

First Published:Nov 3, 2022 6:11 PM IST