SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh at Jammu has quashed the entire election process of the Jammu and Kashmir Olympic Association (JKOA) held in December 2024 and declared the resultant election notification null and void, directing a two-member Committee of Administrators to take over the association and undertake a structural overhaul.
Justice Rahul Bharti, in a 51-page judgment pronounced on September 19 in WP(C) No. 103/2025, appointed retired District and Sessions Judges Chain Lal Bavoria and Virender Singh Bhau as the Committee of Administrators (CoA) to assume the administration and management of the JKOA.
The court directed the committee to revise the JKOA constitution and ensure that the association and its affiliated sports associations are aligned with the constitution of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011.
After the constitutional revision, the CoA has been directed to conduct fresh elections for the office bearers and Executive Committee of the JKOA and submit a compliance report to the High Court by January 29, 2027.
The court also directed the JKOA and outgoing office bearer Dushyant Sharma to immediately hand over all physical and administrative records, assets and other documentation to the CoA. All affiliated state sports associations in Jammu and Kashmir have been directed to extend full cooperation to the administrators.
The judgment arose from a petition filed by Rajeev Sharma, a nominated representative of the Archery Association of J&K, challenging the election process through which Dushyant Sharma and other office bearers and executive members were declared elected for a four-year term on December 15, 2024.
The court examined the manner in which the election process was initiated and conducted and found several procedural deficiencies.
The process began with a paid advertisement published in the Daily Excelsior on November 4, 2024, asking affiliated sports associations to send the names of one representative for finalising the electoral college. The court noted that the notice did not specify the election date, the procedure or mode for submitting the names, the venue, the issuing authority or the list of affiliated associations.
On the same day, outgoing General Secretary Dushyant Sharma addressed a handwritten letter to Advocate Chander Shekhar Gupta informing him that he had been appointed Returning Officer on the directions of the JKOA president and that the election would be held on December 15 at Amar Singh Club, Jammu.
The court noted that the record did not contain any reference to a decision of the JKOA Executive Committee authorising the election notice. It also observed that there was no formal response from Gupta accepting the appointment before he proceeded to conduct the election process.
A further communication dated November 19, 2024, informed affiliated associations about a General Body Meeting scheduled for December 15. The court described the communication as appearing to be intended for record-making rather than actual communication.
On November 27, Gupta, acting as Returning Officer, issued an election communication to the affiliated units and set out the election schedule. The electoral college comprised 25 representatives of affiliated sports associations.
The petitioner, who represented the Archery Association of JK, submitted his nomination for the post of president. The court record also showed that Kuldeep Kumar Gupta, an executive member of the outgoing JKOA Executive Committee and General Secretary of the JK Amateur Kabaddi Association, had raised objections on November 28 over alleged non-compliance with the National Sports Development Code and other deficiencies in the election process.
The Returning Officer responded to the objections on December 5, 2024, seeking to justify the election exercise.
The court also took note of a December 9 communication from the Secretary of the JK Sports Council stating that the JKOA had been de-recognised for non-compliance with the National Sports Development Code and guidelines issued by the Sports Council. Recognised sports associations were directed to adhere to the Sports Code and the Council’s guidelines in relation to elections.
The judgment further examined the conduct of the polling held on December 15. Written protests were submitted by four electors, including petitioner Rajeev Sharma, raising objections to the election process, after which they did not cast their votes.
Dushyant Sharma was subsequently declared elected as president with 22 votes, while Rajeev Sharma received one vote.
Justice Bharti questioned the manner in which the Returning Officer had functioned, observing that he had acted on what the judgment described as a “script served to him” by Dushyant Sharma rather than independently discharging the responsibilities associated with the office.
The court also examined the issue of Dushyant Sharma’s position as a public servant and his participation in the affairs of the sports body. It observed that he had repeatedly contested and held office in the association without obtaining proper and explicit prior authorisation from the government or Police Headquarters, treating such permissions as having been granted on a continuing basis.
The court rejected the contention that the JKOA could remain outside the framework of the National Sports Development Code or continue to function under an outdated constitution. It noted that the Indian Olympic Association, as the parent body, had aligned itself with the Sports Code and held that the JKOA could not claim immunity from the applicable national standards.
The judgment also stressed that the sports administration in Jammu and Kashmir had to develop in line with national standards and that sporting institutions were required to function with institutional efficiency, integrity, professionalism and expertise.
At the outset of the judgment, the court referred to the Supreme Court’s ruling in All India Football Federation v. Rahul Mehra and others, 2025 INSC 1131, concerning governance and administration of sports bodies.
Justice Bharti observed that sporting facilities, opportunities and resources constituted institutions of national life and that ensuring their effective and transparent functioning was part of the State’s constitutional responsibility.
The court also rejected preliminary objections concerning the arbitration clause and the pendency of SLP No. 25767/2022, holding that the issues raised before it required judicial examination in the public interest in light of the Supreme Court’s rulings concerning sports governance.
With the December 2024 election process quashed, the court has now placed the administration of the JKOA with the two-member CoA. The committee has been tasked with revising the association’s constitutional framework, bringing affiliated sports bodies into conformity with the applicable national standards and conducting fresh elections before reporting compliance to the High Court by January 29, 2027.
