“Non-existent” State Golf Associations suspended

Five state associations of the Indian Golf Union (IGU) have run into trouble for violating the guidelines of the sport's governing body and have been suspended.

Returning Officer O P Garg issued the suspension order on Monday ahead of the IGUs upcoming elections.

The five state associations that have been barred from the December 15 election are the Himachal Pradesh Proam Golf Association, Arunachal Pradesh Golf Association, Madhya Prant Golf Association, Nagaland Golf Association, and Sikkim State Golf Association.

The Indian Golf Union is the apex body of golf in the country and is responsible for the promotion and development of golf in the country.

Non-fulfilment of requirements

Garg, a retired Judge of the Allahabad High Court reviewed the matter following a complaint from Shyam Sunder, Chairman of the IGU Technical Committee and a council member, and executed the suspension order.

Garg’s order stated that the five associations “do not fulfil the requirements of the bye laws of IGU."

After reviewing all the documents as made available to by IGU, Garg ruled “the five SGAs are virtually nonexistent and have blatantly failed and deliberately committed breach of the law.”

Therefore, he ruled that “the five State Gold Associations (SGAs) named above are not entitled to take part in the ongoing election process. Their names shall not appear in the list of electoral college."

The Annual General Meeting of the IGU to elect the office-bearers and members of the governing council for the ensuing year (2024-26) is due on December 15.

No response received

The Returning Officer stated that an email with all the relevant facts was sent to the five associations on November 22, asking them to submit their views within two days.

That said, "none of the above five SGAs have responded to the email message."

Further, a video conference was held on Monday involving President Brijinder Singh, complainant Shyam Sunder, and Maj Gen Bibhuti Bhushan (DG, IGU).

Additionally, it was noted the five SGAs “did not respond and their telephone numbers are not available in the record of IGU, none of them could be contacted," he added.

The complaint cited the fact that the "five SGAs have not held their AGMs and failed to file their annual report/balance sheets as per record of IGU".