Delhi High Court
– Photo : amar ujala
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The High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports seeking its response on a petition filed by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) challenging its suspension. Justice Subramaniam Prasad has given the central government four weeks to respond to the petition. The next hearing of the case will be on May 28.
WFI was suspended by the Central Government through a communication issued on 24 December 2023. The suspension came just days after Sanjay Singh, a close aide of former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, won the WFI elections and took control of the apex wrestling body.
The Sports Ministry had cited hasty decisions taken by the WFI and said that the new leadership had completely disregarded the rules and regulations. It then asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to form an ad-hoc body to control and manage the affairs of the WFI.
The ad-hoc committee set up specifically to manage the affairs of the WFI has also been dissolved by the IOA. Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, appearing for the WFI, told the court that the ministry’s order is in complete violation of the principles of natural justice and the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011.
Krishnan said the WFI was suspended without any notice, while the Sports Code itself believes that a show cause notice should be issued to the body before taking a decision to suspend a federation like the WFI.