The Supreme Court Wednesday declared "null and void" the elections conducted last December by the Archery Association of India (AAI) that were monitored by high court-appointed administrator S Y Quraishi, and directed fresh polling within four weeks.
It also set aside the AAI constitution, as amended by the Delhi High Court-appointed administrator, saying that steps taken by him were not in conformity with the directions passed by the top court earlier.
A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Ajay Rastogi said that the incumbent elected body would continue to function as a committee of administrators of the AAI and allowed it to be in office until the newly elected body takes over.
"The Committee shall discharge only routine and day-to-day activities and shall not take any policy decision or create new financial liability, until the newly elected body takes over," the bench said.
"We further declare that all steps taken by the administrator on the basis of the administrator's Constitution, including the elections conducted on December 22, 2018, are null and void and non est in law," the bench said.
The top court had on December 4, 2017 directed AAI, the national body for archery in India, to amend its constitution in accordance with the 2011 National Sports Development Code (NSDC) and also to conduct the elections within four weeks thereafter.
It had also requested Quraishi to oversee the elections in accordance with the amended constitution and also to look into the functioning of AAI which was de-recognised by the government in 2012 for four months.
On November 19 last year, the court had refused to interfere with the then ongoing election process but made it clear that its result would be subject to the outcome of the petition challenging the exercise.
The top court Wednesday delivered the judgement on the appeals filed by the AAI, Maharashtra Archery Association and Kerala State Archery Association against the new constitution and the election process initiated by the former Chief Election Commissioner, Quraishi.
The bench said that all the amendments to the AAI Constitution, besides the four amendments approved by the court in its December 4, 2017 order, be declared as "null and void" and "non existing in law".
"The same, at best, may be pursued as a proposal to be considered after the newly elected body initiates a procedure for carrying out further amendments to the Constitution of AAI as per law," the bench said.
The bench said the election for constituting the new elected body be completed within four weeks from today and the election process must be conducted strictly in accordance with the constitution as amended in terms of the December 4, 2017 order.
It also said that the newly elected body, after taking over the office, should move a proposal for further amendment of the Constitution to bring it in line with the National Sports Code and directed the Committee to submit a compliance report before the Delhi High Court within six weeks of the new body taking over.
The bench said the administrator was given the liberty to seek clarification or directions as and when necessary; however, it could not be mistaken as authorising the administrator to carry out amendments in the constitution beyond the four amendments referred in the December 4, 2017 order.
"The constitution filed by the Administrator contained several other amendments than the permitted or approved amendments. It is also not in dispute that no formal application has been moved by the Administrator before this Court seeking liberty to amend the Constitution beyond the amendments referred to in the December 4, 2017 order," the bench said.
It also said that no direction was sought to conduct elections on the basis of the amendments incorporated by the administrator in the new constitution.
"His actions had caused serious prejudice owing to the unilateral, unauthorised action taken by him, including of having deprived the members of the Association(s) from representing and participating in the election process of the apex body, which they were otherwise entitled to under the constitution, as approved by this Court in terms of the order dated December 4, 2017," it said.
"All this having been done by the Court appointed Administrator, in the guise of an order of this Court, the Court must step in and nullify all the actions taken by the Administrator which are beyond the scope of the order dated December 4, 2017," the bench said.
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