Delhi HC reinstates ad hoc committee to oversee wrestling federation

The Delhi High Court has reinstated the ad hoc committee originally set up by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to oversee the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The court found the previous dissolution of the committee unjustified.

Justice Sachin Datta issued the order, emphasising that while the IOA has the authority to reconstitute the committee, the previous committee’s mandate is restored. This follows the IOA’s decision in March to dissolve the committee, citing the lifting of the WFI's suspension and the successful completion of selection trials.

The court's decision came in response to an application by wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, and Satyawart Kadian, who had challenged the legality of WFI’s 21 December 2023 elections. They requested the appointment of a one-man committee to manage WFI’s affairs and sought directions to prevent the Union sports ministry from revoking WFI’s suspension during the case's proceedings.

Justice Datta clarified that the court reinstated ad hoc committee will continue to function until the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) decides otherwise. The MYAS has the option to withdraw or review its order from 12 December 2023, which had mandated the formation of the ad hoc committee.

“I’ve directed for restoration of the ad hoc committee by the IOA. It will be open to the IOA to reconstitute the committee,” said Datta.

"Since this Court has concluded that the dissolution of the ad-hoc committee was unwarranted, it restores the mandate of the ad-hoc committee appointed by the IOA vide order dated 27 December 2023. However, it shall be open to IOA to reconstitute the ad-hoc committee so as to ensure that the same is a multi-member body comprising of eminent sportsperson/s and/or experts who are well-versed in dealing with the International Federations, so as to allay any concerns that the UWW might have as regards the steps taken qua the WFI," said the Court.

The wrestlers had also proposed the appointment of a retired Supreme Court or high court judge as an administrator, but the court did not favour this at this time.

The court noted that the wrestlers had been actively involved in protesting the former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s tenure. After Singh’s tenure, Sanjay Singh, seen as close to Singh, became the head of WFI.

The Centre had suspended WFI on 24 December 2023, for not adhering to its constitution. Although the suspension was lifted by the United World Wrestling (UWW) in February 2024, the IOA had previously dissolved the ad hoc committee.

The wrestlers' application also challenged the actions of WFI’s management and sought specific directions for communication with UWW. The court’s decision underscores the need for a properly constituted committee to manage WFI's affairs and address concerns related to its administration and international affiliations.