The Orissa High Court has stayed Hockey India’s proposed December 5 elections for its executive committee and office-bearers, along with a notice seeking to downgrade the Hockey Association of Odisha (HAO) from a permanent to an associate member. The interim order will remain in force until the next hearing on December 9.
Justice R K Pattanaik passed the order while hearing a writ petition filed by HAO against decisions taken at Hockey India’s 119th and 120th executive body meetings on October 6. The association has also challenged the show-cause notice issued on October 7 and subsequent steps taken to conduct the elections.
The court issued notices to the Union government and Hockey India after hearing submissions from HAO and the Odisha government. It directed HAO to file the required requisites within seven days. Additional government advocate B P Nayak accepted notice on behalf of the state government.
Senior advocate P K Rath, appearing for HAO, questioned the legality of the show-cause notice and challenged the election process initiated after the decision at Hockey India’s 119th executive body meeting. The petition contests both the notice and the proposed reclassification of the Odisha association under Hockey India’s bylaws.
Odisha’s Advocate General Pitambar Acharya supported HAO’s challenge before the court. He argued that Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh did not have the authority to issue the notice because the tenure of Hockey India’s executive committee had expired on September 30.
Acharya also submitted that the proposed elections were connected to the process of aligning state and district-level hockey associations with the National Sports Governance Act, 2025. He referred to December 31, 2025, as the deadline for completing the alignment process and highlighted Odisha’s significant involvement in hockey, including its sponsorship agreement with Hockey India and the state’s contribution to the sport.
The show-cause notice sought to change HAO’s status from a permanent member to an associate member. The court has stayed the notice, the consequential notice and the election schedule while awaiting a response from Singh and the other respondents.
The dispute places the governance of state-level hockey associations at the centre of the court proceedings. It also affects the administrative process through which Hockey India is seeking to conduct elections and align affiliated bodies with the new sports governance framework.
The matter will be taken up again on December 9 for further hearing and orders. Until then, Hockey India’s proposed December 5 election schedule and the action against the Hockey Association of Odisha remain stayed.
