Narinder Batra resigns as FIH president, gives up IOC membership after CBI conducts searches

The
veteran
sports
administator
also
gave
up
his
International
Olympic
Committee
(IOC)
membership
on
Monday.
Batra
stepped
down
just
hours
after
the
CBI
conducted
multiple
raids
at
this
residence
and
offices
in
New
Delhi
and
Jammu.

Delhi
High
Court
orders
Narinder
Batra
to
stop
functioning
as
IOA
chief

As
reported
in
PTI,
as
per
CBI
officials,
searches
were
carried
on
in
five
locations
across
two
cities
after
an
FIR
was
filed
against
Batra
in
an
alleged
corruption
case.

Back
in
April,
the
CBI
had
initiated
a
preliminary
inquiry
against
Batra
for
alleged
misappropriation
of
Hockey
India
funds
to
the
tune
of
Rs
35
lakh.
Batra
ceased
to
be
President
of
the
Indian
Olympic
Association
(IOA)
when
the
Delhi
High
Court,
on
May
25,
struck
down
the
post
of
‘Life
member’ in
Hockey
India,
courtesy
which
he
had
contested
and
won
the
IOA
elections
won
back
in
2017.

Batra
had
appealed
against
the
ruling
but
a
larger
bench
of
the
High
Court
had
refused
to
stay
the
earlier
order
and
listed
the
matter
for
the
next
hearing
on
July
26.
The
sports
administrator
also
officially
resigned
as
IOA
President.

In
three
separate
handwritten
notes,
Batra
officially
tendered
his
resignation
from
the
three
positions.
In
all
the
letters,
he
cited
“personal
reasons”
for
his
decision.
“Due
to
personal
reasons
I
submit
my
resignation
from
the
post
of
President
FIH,”
Batra
wrote
to
the
Executive
Board
of
FIH.

Batra
became
president
of
FIH
in
2016
and
reclaimed
the
position
last
year
for
a
second
term
till
2024.
The
FIH
Board
accepted
the
resignation
and
said
an
acting
president
will
be
appointed
soon
in
Batra’s
place.

“As
stipulated
in
the
FIH
Statutes
(Article
7.4
a),
the
Executive
Board
shall
appoint
an
acting
President
to
hold
office
until
the
FIH
Congress
appoints
a
person
to
fill
the
vacancy.
Therefore,
a
meeting
of
the
EB
will
be
organised
as
soon
as
possible,”
the
FIH
said
in
a
statement.

“In
accordance
with
the
same
article,
the
next
Presidential
elections
will
take
place
during
the
upcoming
FIH
Congress
which
is
planned
to
be
held
virtually
on
4
and
5
November
this
year.”

Batra’s
IOC
membership
was
linked
to
IOA
presidency
but
his
resignation
from
FIH
has
come
as
surprise
since
in
May
he
had
said
that
he
wants
to
focus
on
his
job
in
the
world
hockey
body.
After
he
was
removed
by
the
High
Court,
Batra
had
issued
a
statement,
announcing
his
decision
not
to
contest
the
upcoming
IOA
elections,
saying
that
his
focus
will
now
completely
shift
to
managing
world
hockey.

“At
a
time
when
world
hockey
is
going
through
an
essential
development
phase,
with
the
promotion
of
Hockey5s,
the
creation
of
a
new
competition
this
year
–
the
FIH
Hockey
Nations
Cup
–
and
the
launch
of
fan-engaging
platforms
and
activities,
my
role
as
President
of
the
International
Hockey
Federation
(FIH)
requires
more
time
for
all
these
activities,”
Batra
had
said.

“Consequently,
I’ve
decided
to
not
run
for
a
further
term
as
president
of
the
IOA.”

The
65-year-old
Batra
took
charge
of
the
IOA
for
the
first
time
in
2017
and
was
eligible
to
contest
for
re-election.
The
IOA
elections
were
due
in
December
last
year
but
could
not
be
held
as
per
schedule
due
to
ongoing
amendments
in
the
election
process.
Batra
became
an
IOC
member
in
2019
and
later
went
on
to
become
a
member
of
the
Olympic
Channel
Commission.

The
Delhi
High
Court
ordered
Batra
to
stop
functioning
as
IOA
president
“in
a
contempt
proceeding”,
filed
by
Olympian
and
hockey
World
Cup
winner
Aslam
Sher
Khan.
The
court
then
appointed
Anil
Khanna,
who
held
the
post
of
Senior
IOA
vice
president,
as
the
acting
president
of
IOA.

Batra’s
reign
has
been
marred
by
number
of
controversies.
In
2020,
IOA
vice-president
Sudhanshu
Mittal
had
written
to
the
IOC,
alleging
irregularities
and
false
declarations
by
Batra
in
his
election
to
the
top
post.

Recently,
Batra
had
apologised
for
a
social
media
post
against
former
Chief
Justice
of
India
RM
Lodha,
a
development
which
had
led
to
demands
of
his
resignation
from
the
IOA
top
job.

Source:
PTI