New Delhi, Jan 13 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the stand of the Indian Olympic Association on a plea by Bihar Olympic Association challenging the decision over an ad-hoc committee looking after its affairs.

Justice Sachin Datta asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to file a response in a week on the plea which sought restoration of the status of the state's body in light of the 38th national games scheduled to be held from January 28.

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The petitioner, represented by advocate Neha Singh, argued the appointment of a single-member fact-finding panel in November 2024 over certain alleged complaints with respect to its functioning and election process was unilateral.

The consequent "illegal" decision of the respondent authority, taken on January 1, to form the ad-hoc committee could not be sustained, the petitioner argued.

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Singh said at no point was the petitioner informed about the purported representations received against it and got no opportunity to be heard.

She submitted the constitution of the IOA did not empower its president to form an "ad-hoc committee" to replace a duly-elected and duly-registered body when there was no consultation with the IOA executive committee members before such a drastic measure.

The matter would be heard on January 24.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)