The Delhi High Court on Friday reinstated the mandate of the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) ad-hoc committee to manage the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). This decision comes after prominent wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, and Satyawart Kadian, filed a plea seeking to halt the functioning of the WFI in its current form. The wrestlers aimed to prevent the WFI from operating as the national federation for wrestling.
The order was passed by Justice Sachin Datta, who clarified that the IOA has the authority to reconstitute the committee. This legal action follows a series of events that began with protests by the wrestlers at Jantar Mantar last year, demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the outgoing WFI chief, over allegations of sexual harassment involving seven female wrestlers. Earlier this year, the wrestlers had also approached the High Court to nullify and declare as illegal the elections held in December 2023 to appoint the federation’s office bearers.
Sanjay Singh, a supporter of Brij Bhushan, was elected as the new WFI president on December 21, 2023. In response to the wrestlers’ petition for interim relief to suspend the WFI’s activities, the Central Government suspended the WFI on December 24, 2023, just three days after the elections, citing non-compliance with its own constitutional provisions. The IOA was then tasked with forming an ad-hoc committee to manage the federation’s affairs.
In February, the world wrestling body, UWW, lifted the suspension imposed on the WFI, prompting the IOA to dissolve its ad-hoc committee in March. On March 4, the High Court issued notices to the Central Government, WFI, and the ad-hoc committee based on the top wrestlers’ petition. The court’s decision to reinstate the IOA’s ad-hoc committee marks a significant development in the ongoing saga surrounding the WFI and the allegations of sexual harassment. It remains to be seen how this decision will impact the future of the federation and the wrestlers who have been fighting for justice and accountability.
