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The tug-of-war between Union Sports Minister M S Gill and Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) chairman Suresh Kalmadi over the tenure of sport association heads notwithstanding, the Centre is all set to file an affidavit before the Delhi High Court on Wednesday. In the affidavit the Centre will explain its stand on the implementation of a regulation clause. The clause essentially limits the tenure of sporting bosses to 12 years or a retirement age of 70 years. At the last hearing, the Delhi High Court had criticised the government for its indecisiveness on the clause. Earlier Advocate Rahul Mehra had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) demanding more accountability in the functioning of national sports bodies. The PIL states that National Sports Federations (NSFs) are not run by professionals, but by politicians, and added tat elections to these bodies are flawed. Mehra tried to draw the attention of the court to the fact that that the IOA enjoys enormous power, which it misused. Some of those who could be affected by the government's decision are Kalmadi, who has been at the helm of the IOC for 15 years , exceeding his term by three years. Digvijay Singh, who has been the Vice President of the IOC for ten years and has two years left can also be affected by the row. Senior BJP leader V K Malhotra, who has been President of the All India Archery Association for 31 years, exceeding his tenure by 19 years, and Jagdish Tytler, who has exceeded his tenure by two years, are also in the eye of the storm. Another senior BJP leaderYashwant Sinha has also exceeded his tenure as president of the All India Tennis Association by five years.

Tenure of sports bodies: Centre to file affidavit in Delhi HC