The Delhi High Court has scheduled a hearing for September 12 regarding a petition filed by renowned wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, and her husband Satyawart Kadian. The petition seeks to nullify the results of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections held last year, alleging them to be illegal.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav has directed the involved partiesโincluding the petitioning wrestlers who led protests last year, the Central government, and the WFIโto complete their pleadings before the scheduled hearing. The wrestlers had previously protested at Jantar Mantar, calling for the arrest of the then WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexually harassing several female grapplers.
The petitioners’ senior counsel highlighted concerns regarding the current federation’s leadership, especially criticizing the role of the new WFI chief, Sanjay Singh, a known associate of Brij Bhushan. The counsel pointed out Singh’s controversial presence and decision-making at the Olympic Village in Paris, where Vinesh Phogat faced disqualification for being slightly overweight before her gold medal match.
The petition further argues that the WFI elections violated the Sports Code and were conducted without adherence to the federation’s constitution. This led the Central government to suspend the WFI shortly after the elections. However, the international wrestling body UWW lifted this suspension, and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) subsequently dissolved its ad-hoc committee overseeing wrestling.
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The plea by the wrestlers also requests the continuation of the ad-hoc committee’s management of the WFI or, alternatively, the appointment of a retired Supreme Court judge to oversee the federation. The petitioners describe the WFI as a “habitual offender” of the sports ministryโs directives, which they claim has negatively impacted the careers of many Indian wrestlers.
