The war between the Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Dhruv Batra and Secretary-General Rajeev Mehtra has escalated for control of IOA’s official website and email ID. The two have been at logger heads for long. The rival factions miss no opportunity to accuse each other of wrong doings.
The Secretary General has taken absolute digital control of the website and the email ID. The President has made a move to declare the existing ID and website defunct, while also announcing to launch a new “official” IOA website and create a new email ID. Mehta has challenged Batra’s move.
The matter had also reached the police as Batra filed a formal complaint on Monday that “someone” was impersonating him as the IOA president and sending emails in his name. Sportinghub is in possession of the police complaint, which read as follows:
“With this letter, I am informing that the undersigned is the president, Indian Olympic Association, International Hockey Federation and Member of the International Olympic Committee.
“It has been brought to my notice that a person is impersonating me as President, Indian Olympic Association, and sending emails. Accordingly, your attention is drawn to the attached emails, which has been sent by the offender, impersonating the undersigned.
“Would be grateful, if this issue could be investigated and be taken to logical conclusion”.
The Batra group also made a “formal bid” to take absolute control of the website and official email ID of the IOA. The IOA president in an official statement claimed that he has got approval from majority of the 31 Executive Council (EC) members to change the official email ID and website of the IOA.
Sportinghub is also in possession of the statement issued by Batra.
“The official email ID of IOA effective immediately will only be ioa2022official@gmail.com and the earlier official email of IOA, i.e. ioa@olympic.ind.in becomes invalid with immediate effect,” read the statement.
“All mails sent by the Secretary General IOA after he changed the password and refused to share the same with the IOA office staff who operated the emails…will be treated as invalid and will have no legal sanctity.
The statement further read that a new website will be created for IOA on priority. It also named two persons designated to create the new website, which “will be the only official website of IOA. The present website of IOA www.olympic.ind.in becomes invalid effective immediately”.
Batra claimed that he has got approvals from 18 out of 31 EC members and so the “resolution by circulation” has become “effective immediately”.
Mehta wasted no time in retaliating, declaring the resolution “unlawful”. Mehta claimed that the term of the EC “has already expired on December 14, 2021”, hence the body is not empowered to adopt any resolution.
He termed Batra’s act a “commission of offence punishable under Information and Technology Act, 2000 and Indian Penal Code.
“Your plan/proposal…all smack of foul play in hijacking the whole system to manipulate the data/information for your own benefits ahead of elections of IOA… the same is unlawful and how any such resolution could be proposed and passed by EC when term of the EC has already expired on December 14, 2021,” Mehta alleged in a statement.
“There is no EC in place, therefore, there can be no resolution proposed or passed. Otherwise also the resolution in question is beyond the competence and authority of the Executive Council.”
The term of the current office bearers has ended on December 14 last year and the elections of a new dispensation could not be held before the deadline due to a pending case in the Delhi High Court which had ordered “status quo” on an application by a senior advocate, national news agency PTI has reported.
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The HC had ordered the IOA members to “deliberate and vote” on “amendments to the constitution/articles of association of the IOA, as may be agreed and/or requisite in terms of the National Sports Code, the IOC Charter and orders of this court and the Supreme Court.”
Mehta said the system of computer network and other electronic means of communications of the IOA were used in establishing communications with International Olympic Committee, National Olympic Committees, International Sports Federations, foreign governments as well as Government of India, various State governments and National Federations among others and cannot be changed without following the constitution of the IOA.
“Your unwarranted interference and your unilateral/unlawful act designed to change official website and email ID of Indian Olympic Association, amounts to commission of offence punishable under Information and Technology Act, 2000 and Indian Penal Code,” he said.
“You are hereby called upon to withdraw letter of February 8, 2022 (addressed to the EC members) failing which I will be compelled to institute appropriate proceedings against you and others for commission of offence under I.T. Act and Indian Penal Code.” Mehta also described the letter sent by Batra to the EC members to change the official email ID and website of the IOA to be “based on false and concocted facts and has been issued without any authority”.
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