Favors for AITA, the association refusing to return Davis Cup expenses

Om Pathak, the ex-administrator who organized the Davis Cup tournament last year at the Gymkhana Club, claims that the entire amount of sponsorship received in the name of the tournament belongs to the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and about Rs 3.25 crore amount spent on the event was the obligation of the club. It is surprising that the present Directors of the club are writing letters to recover the full amount spent from the AITA, but they are keeping mum over the revenue share to the club out of the amount of about 10 Crores collected in the name of sponsorship.

The specter of the Davis Cup has become a stuck bone for the government representatives managing Delhi Gymkhana Club. In the Annual General Meeting of December 2022, they made a written claim that there was no dispute regarding this matter. But the reality is that AITA, which organizes Davis Cup, has not taken seriously even their August 2022 letter, in which club had demanded payment of about 3.5 Crore rupees. Significantly, the present directors of Gymkhana did not even agree with the argument of former administrator Pathak, in which he said that AITA, which organizes Davis Cup, had to pay only 26 lakh rupees. But surprisingly, despite refusals, neither they have taken any action against the AITA nor against Pathak. The officials of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs have become Dhritarashtra in this case.

This is the whole matter

In March 2022, Pathak, administrator of the Gymkhana Club, organized a Davis Cup tournament in the club in association with AITA. Pathak himself wrote letters to many ministries and PSUs to raise the amount of sponsorship. The AITA received about 10 Crore rupees via various Companies for the tournament. But this amount was not deposited in the club’s account, but in an account in which Pathak himself was also an authorized signatory, that was opened for the tournament. Notably, Pathak and Secretary JP Singh made the club’s employees work tirelessly for organizing the tournament, for which they were promised to be paid about 1.36 Crore rupees salary. But even after almost a year of the tournament, the suffering employees have not been paid.

This is the controversy

In the annual report for December 2022 AGM, the auditor raised questions regarding the terms and conditions of the Davis Cup. According to him, it was not shown by officials or in the club records. The club had asked the organizing body AITA to refund the expenditure of about 3.5 Crores done by the club. But the AITA had returned only 26 Lakhs. Strangely, no agreement on sharing of expenditure and revenue along with the terms and conditions in the context of the event was made available to the auditor.

Questions on Pathak’s modus operandi

Club members allege that the then administrator Pathak did not make any agreement regarding the expenditure and revenue sharing of the tournament for personal gains. Not only this, but he made club spend about 3.5 crore rupees on the works related to the event. When the controversy erupted, Pathak supported the AITA instead of the club and wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs saying that the AITA had to pay only twenty-six lakh rupees. It is also worth mentioning here that Pathak and AITA President Anil Jain live nearby in Anupam Garden of Sainik Farm.

Malay Sinha wrote a letter to AITA

In April 2022, the government representative Malay Sinha, who became the President of the Gymkhana Club, wrote a letter to AITA on 27 August 2022 asking them to deposit the amount of nearly 3.5 crore rupees spent by the club. It is also written in the letter that Pathak had approved taking only twenty-six lakh rupees. But he wrote that club has to recover from AITA the full amount spent. Strangely, even in this letter, there is no mention of taking any revenue share out of about 10 crores rupees raised in the name of sponsorship.

Allegations by the members

The members of the Gymkhana demand that a case be filed against Pathak and AITA for the loss caused to the club. The question is, despite AITA not returning the money, why are directors being soft towards it? Why did the directors, who wrote letter in August demanding refund of the amount spent, write in the Annual financial report that there is no dispute with AITA regarding the matter? Members allege that the present management is trying to save the accused. Letter-game is on only for safety against any future investigation.

Ministry of Corporate Affairs also surrounded by questions

In the annual report of the Gymkhana, the members were also informed that the problem is being discussed. But despite the letter written to AITA in August 2022 to Ministry also and the Auditor information about non-payment, the silence of the ministry officials is questionable. The signatures of the Director General and other Ministry officers are also there on the copy of the letter.