Asunta Lakra rejected the allegations, calling them false and defamatory
She questioned the Ethics Committee’s jurisdiction under Hockey India’s bye-laws
Lakra sought complete documents and more time before filing a detailed reply
Former India women’s hockey team captain Asunta Lakra has questioned the maintainability of the ethics proceedings initiated against her by Hockey India, citing alleged procedural lapses and challenging the jurisdiction of the federation’s Ethics Committee.
According to a PTI report, Lakra submitted a nine-page preliminary reply to the chairman of Hockey India’s Ethics Committee, Justice (Retd) Raghvendra Kumar, rejecting all allegations made against her in complaints filed by former international Albela Rani Toppo.
In her response, which was also marked to Hockey India’s president and secretary general, Lakra described the accusations as “false, baseless, malicious, motivated and defamatory.”
“I deny each and every allegation, insinuation and imputation levelled against me in the said complaints, whether express or implied, as if the same were set out herein separately and traversed seriatim. The allegations are false, baseless, malicious, motivated, defamatory and are a complete distortion of facts,” she said in her reply.
Lakra was served a show-cause notice by the Ethics Committee last month after Toppo, who is also from Jharkhand, lodged a complaint against her.
The latest development came a day after the Sports Ministry directed the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to conduct an independent enquiry into Lakra’s allegations regarding the alleged sexual harassment of girls involved in Jharkhand hockey by former local coach Sudhir Golla, along with claims of institutional intimidation by Hockey India secretary general Bholanath Singh.
Lakra, who had been asked to respond by August 5, 2026, clarified that her preliminary reply was being filed “without prejudice” and “without submitting to the jurisdiction of the Ethics Committee.” She also sought access to several documents and disclosures before submitting a detailed reply on the merits of the case.
Questioning the validity of the proceedings, Lakra argued that Hockey India’s bye-laws and Code of Ethics require a written reference from the federation’s president before the Ethics Committee can assume jurisdiction over a complaint.
“Both the complaints in question are, on their own face, addressed to the Secretary General, Hockey India, and not to the President, Hockey India. Under the scheme of the Bye-Laws of Hockey India adopted on 20th June, 2026 and the Code of Ethics framed thereunder, the Ethics Committee is not a body of original or suo-motu jurisdiction. It is a body of referred jurisdiction,” Lakra said in her reply, as quoted by PTI.
“Until such a written reference is made by the President, the Ethics Committee is not, and cannot be, seized of the complaint, and no inquiry can be commenced,” she added.
Lakra also raised objections to the constitution of the Ethics Committee, pointing out that Hockey India’s website currently lists only two members, despite the requirement for a three-member panel.
“I am entitled to know the identity and composition of the body proposing to inquire into my conduct,” she said, while seeking details of all committee members, their appointments and the resolution constituting the panel.
She further argued that the notices had been issued solely by the committee chairman, whereas “the Ethics Committee is a collegiate body which must act as a body and through a validly constituted quorum.”
In addition, Lakra sought copies of Article 19 of Hockey India’s bye-laws, the federation’s Code of Ethics, the applicable procedural rules, minutes of meetings relating to the complaints, and complete copies of the complaints together with all annexures and supporting documents.
She alleged that the copies supplied to her were incomplete and, in several places, illegible, and that no annexures had been provided despite references to messages, photographs and statements by third parties.
“The copies of the complaints transmitted to me are incomplete and, in material parts, illegible. No annexures, enclosures or supporting documents have been furnished. A reply on merits to allegations of this nature cannot be framed without the underlying material,” she said.
Lakra requested four weeks’ time after receiving the documents sought by her and urged the committee not to draw any adverse inference or initiate ex parte proceedings until the requested disclosures were made.
She also indicated that she may challenge the proceedings before an appropriate court and pursue available legal remedies in relation to the allegations, which she claims have caused serious damage to a reputation built over decades of service to Indian hockey.
The matter now places Hockey India’s internal ethics process under fresh scrutiny, particularly in the context of the parallel IOA enquiry ordered by the Sports Ministry into Lakra’s separate allegations concerning hockey administration in Jharkhand.
