Bhubaneswar: The dispute over alleged mismanagement in hockey governance has escalated, with the Delhi High Court referring the challenge posed by Hockey India (HI) president Dilip Tirkey regarding the national federation’s election process to its internal grievance resolution system.

Tirkey filed a petition asserting that the upcoming HI elections were invalid, seeking judicial intervention to either halt or reform the process. He argued that the elections were announced during HI Executive Board meetings that he claimed were convened unlawfully.

Sources indicate that Tirkey’s court action stems from an ongoing administrative conflict between him, a former Indian captain, and HI Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh, who has been independently calling executive board meetings and advancing various agendas.

On Thursday, the court dismissed Tirkey’s writ petition, instructing that his concerns be addressed through HI’s internal mechanisms according to its bye-laws.

A former Supreme Court judge, Justice A K Sikri, is appointed to lead the grievance redressal committee that will investigate these issues.

This ruling comes shortly after the controversy prompted political ramifications in Odisha, with the opposition party BJD criticizing the BJP government for what it termed a decline in the state’s status in Indian hockey following HI’s proposal to downgrade the Hockey Association of Odisha (HAO) from a permanent to an associate member.

Hockey Odisha expressed its approval of the court’s decision, viewing it as a significant victory for those advocating for improved transparency and accountability in the sport’s administration.