Back
Jammu and Kashmir High Court Quashes J&K Olympic Association Election, Orders Reforms
The has delivered a significant verdict for sports governance in the region, declaring the election of the . Justice Rahul Bharti found the entire electoral exercise to be a " " conducted in blatant violation of the , and appointed a two-member to overhaul the association's constitution and hold fresh elections.
A from the Start
The court traced the genesis of the flawed process to a newspaper notice published on
, by outgoing General Secretary Dushyant Sharma. The notice was conspicuously vague—it omitted the election date, venue, procedure for submitting representative names, and even the identity of the issuing authority.
"The very inception of the so-called election process came up in a very surreptitious manner,"
Justice Bharti observed, noting that
"the election of a Sports Body/Organization is meant not to be a stealth exercise."
The irregularities multiplied rapidly. On the same day, Sharma sent a handwritten letter to advocate appointing him Returning Officer, unilaterally fixing the election for , at . The court highlighted that there was no formal acceptance from Gupta, no prior decision by the JKOA's Executive Committee, and no proper communication to affiliated associations. When Gupta finally issued an election schedule on , he merely scribbled the names of 25 sports associations in pen, suggesting a hasty and arbitrary selection of the electoral college.
Flawed Appointment and Tenure Violations
Justice Bharti did not mince words about the returning officer's conduct:
"The manner in which the respondent No. 5-
(Advocate) has come to carry out the election process is
on the face of it for the reason being that he acted on the script as served to him by the respondent No. 6 – Dushyant Sharma."
The court also noted that Sharma, a government employee, was seeking a third consecutive term as an office bearer without obtaining prior permission from his employer, in contravention of the National Sports Development Code and government instructions.
An Archaic Constitution Cannot Stand
The court rejected the respondents' argument that the National Sports Development Code did not apply to JKOA. It pointed out that the parent body, the
, had already aligned its constitution with the Code, incorporating tenure caps, cooling-off periods, and age limits.
"The respondent No. 3–J&K Olympic Association cannot claim an immunity of perpetuating an old stereotyped archaic constitution,"
Justice Bharti wrote.
"Accepting such a plea would leave the Association in archaic times whereas the sporting talent of UT of J&K is also keeping pace with the sporting talent of the rest of the country."
The court drew extensively from the
's recent edict in
All India Football Federation v. Rahul Mehra
(2025 INSC 1131), which declared that it is a
to ensure sporting institutions function with
"institutional efficiency, integrity, professionalism and expertise."
Justice Bharti emphasized that the JKOA is not a private club but a body whose administration directly affects the present and future of sportspersons across the Union Territory.
A to Sportspersons
"This Court deems it as a
to provide to the sports persons of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir related with different sports through the different sports associations affiliated with the respondent No.3–J&K Olympic Association to have the respondent No.3–J&K Olympic Association and the respective sports associations as its affiliates to be governed and managed by the spirit of the National Sports Development Code,"
the judgment declared.
The court also brushed aside the contention that the matter was before the in , noting that the connected petition had already been decided.
to Overhaul and Conduct Fresh Polls
Declaring the impugned election " ," the court appointed retired District & Sessions Judges Chain Lal Bavoria and Virender Singh Bhau as a two-member . The committee will immediately take over the administration and management of JKOA, revise its constitution to align with the IOA constitution and the National Sports Development Code, and then conduct elections for office bearers and the Executive Committee. The committee must submit a report by , and is empowered to seek extensions if needed.
All 25 affiliated state sports associations in Jammu & Kashmir are directed to fully cooperate with the administrators. The fee for the committee will be fixed upon submission of their final report.
The writ petition was disposed of with these directions, marking a decisive step towards transparent and professional sports administration in the region.
