New Delhi: The turmoil in the national table tennis federation is showing no sign of coming to an end.The suspended secretary general of Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), Kamlesh Mehta, said on Monday that he would seek legal remedy to “restore fairness” in the body.
The federation said on Sunday that the decision to suspend Mehta, a former international and eight-time national champion, as secretary general was taken due to serious “procedural breaches, governance failures, and financial irregularities”. It said Mehta has been suspended pending an enquiry.
“A three-member enquiry committee has been constituted, and a separate show-cause notice will provide him a full opportunity to present his defence,” TTFI said in a statement.
Mehta, who took over as secretary general after the elections in December 2022, called the AGM in which the decision was taken as “unconstitutional”.
“I intend to approach the Hon’ble court as a last resort following my suspension as the manner in which this action was taken by the president of TTFI left no effective internal remedy and raised serious concerns about fairness, process and governance,” Mehta said on Monday.
He charged TTFI president Meghna Ahlawat with taking decisions unilaterally and without following due processes.
“My intention of seeking judicial intervention is not driven by personal grievance, but by the need to restore fairness, accountability and constitutional functioning within TTFI, which has been compromised by the president’s actions, so that the sport does not suffer and those who act responsibly are not made examples of.
“Since the elections in December 2022, the functioning of TTFI has increasingly reflected a pattern of unilateral decision-making by the president. Several key commercial and administrative matters, including tender-related processes, were handled without transparency, without collective approval and without placing supporting records before the Executive Committee or the General Body of TTFI,” he said.
“Beyond a single visit to formally take charge, there has been prolonged disengagement from day-to-day affairs. An absent president has chosen to suspend an active general secretary rather than explain her own lack of engagement.”
TTFI’s governance has been under scrutiny. The union sports ministry sent a notice to the federation in December over the delay in organising the senior national championships and announcing the domestic calendar. Following the AGM, TTFI announced the senior national championships in Indore from March 15 to 22.
