The Supreme Court on Monday referred all petitions related to the election dispute within the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) to the Delhi High Court, consolidating cases from multiple high courts to avoid conflicting rulings and duplication of proceedings.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh also extended the stay on the BFI election process by six weeks, giving petitioners time to approach the Delhi High Court. “We have discussed the matter in open court. Parties agree that Delhi High Court can be the appropriate forum to agitate all issues,” the bench observed, adding that the petitioners are at liberty to either file fresh petitions or join ongoing proceedings in the Delhi High Court.
To streamline the legal process, the bench transferred matters previously pending before the Himachal Pradesh High Court, Punjab and Haryana High Court, and the Bombay High Court. The top court also noted that parties involved had undertaken not to raise the issue of jurisdiction again, and left it open for them to seek further directions or modifications from the Delhi High Court.
The case stems from a challenge raised by former Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and the Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association (HPBA) against an order passed by the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
Thakur, an executive member of HPBA, was nominated to contest the BFI elections scheduled on March 28. However, his nomination was allegedly rejected arbitrarily without a hearing, purportedly at the behest of former BFI President Ajay Singh. A single judge bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court had initially stayed Thakur’s exclusion from the electoral college and directed the BFI to reopen the nomination process. But this relief was overturned by a division bench in April, prompting Thakur and HPBA to seek redress from the Supreme Court.
The apex court further remarked that earlier arguments by BFI and other parties had become “infructuous” in light of the International Olympic Committee’s de-recognition of the body that previously recognized the BFI. The court was informed that the federation is now recognized by a different international governing body.
With the matter now consolidated before the Delhi High Court, the future course of the BFI’s electoral process is set to be determined in the coming weeks.
