AITA Elections Governed by Court Orders

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) elected new office bearers unopposed at its AGM, but the results remain undisclosed due to a Delhi High Court directive. The court is reviewing a petition regarding Sports Code violations. The final hearing is scheduled for October 14.

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Saturday elected unopposed a new set of office bearers, but the results were not declared officially as per the directions of the Delhi High Court, which is examining allegations of Sports Code violations by the federation.

The election was meant to take place during the AITA's Annual General Meeting (AGM), but voting was unnecessary since only one nomination was submitted for each position.

A new President, secretary general, treasurer, eight vice presidents, four joint secretaries, and ten executive members were elected. Initially, Rohit Rajpal and another candidate had filed nominations for president, but Rajpal, India's non-playing Davis Cup captain, later withdrew his candidacy.

Former Indian players Somdev Devvarman and Purav Raja had sought a stay on the AITA elections, alleging non-compliance with the Sports Code and questioning the eligibility of several candidates. The Court did not stay the elections but asked the AITA and the Sports Ministry to submit their responses.

The Court stated, 'The Election shall remain subject to the outcome of the instant writ petition. Let the result of the Election be placed in a sealed cover by the Election Officer, meaning thereby, the result of the Election shall not be published.'

The matter will be heard on October 14. Until then, the outgoing and incoming teams will jointly manage the federation's activities.

(With inputs from agencies.)