Anurag Thakur was deemed ineligible by Ajay Singh following a March 7 BFI directive stating that only elected members could participate in the electoral process
Boxing Federation of India's (BFI) appeal to overturn the order to stay former sports minister Anurag Thakur's disqualification from the electoral college for the national body's polls was on Tuesday dismissed by the Himachal Pradesh High Court. (More Sports News)
BFI president Ajay Singh had challenged the high court's March 20 ruling, which reinstated Thakur's eligibility to contest elections and directed BFI to extend the nomination deadline to allow his candidature.
"The BFI President had appealed to the double bench to stay the single bench's order. But the court has not granted a stay.
"The next hearing is on April 7," Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association President Rajesh Bhandari told PTI.
Thakur was deemed ineligible by Singh following a March 7 BFI directive stating that only elected members could participate in the electoral process.
Thakur was seeking to represent the Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association but was ruled ineligible on the ground that he was not an elected member.
The Delhi High Court had also stayed the March 7 order, which barred non-elected state association members from the electoral college, but had allowed BFI to proceed with the elections.
Following the rulings from both the Delhi and Himachal Pradesh High Courts, Returning Officer RK Gauba had paused the election process. The election was earlier scheduled to be held on March 28.
Singh had written to Gauba on Friday that the BFI is seeking urgent intervention from a superior court due to the "conflicting orders" issued by the two high courts.
The elections, originally scheduled for February 2, have faced multiple delays and controversies.
The BFI flung into action only after the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) appointed an ad-hoc committee, a move the national federation challenged in the Delhi High Court, which subsequently put a stay on the ad-hoc panel.