WFI elections put on hold by Punjab & Haryana HC

The Wrestlers Federation of India (WFI) elections which were scheduled to be held on August 12, have been put on hold.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court while hearing a petition filed by the Haryana Wrestling Association (HWA) on Friday has stayed the elections till further orders.

The HWA has challenged the move to allow Haryana Amateur Wrestling Association (HAWA) to cast votes in the WFI polls.

Advocate Ravinder Malik, representing HWA said the HWA is a registered society in the state and is affiliated with the WFI, and per rules and the WFI constitution, any registered affiliated body can send two representatives to cast their votes for the WFI polls. But the association is facing prejudice, added Malik.

Congress MP Deepinder Hooda is the chief of HWA.

Pertinently, HAWA which is also affiliated with the WFI, said that the HWA has no business to participate in the election process because it is not affiliated with the WFI.

"The returning officer has given the finding in favour of Haryana Amateur Wrestling Association, saying they fulfil the condition of affiliation with WFI as well as Haryana Olympic Association," said the advocate, representing HWA.

"We have challenged the returning officer's order in the HC, saying that the Haryana Amateur Wrestling Association may be affiliated with the WFI but it is not affiliated with the HOA, meaning they are not entitled to participate in the poll process," said advocate Malik.

"In case, Haryana Amateur Wrestling Association is allowed to participate in the election process, then it will cause prejudice as well as the WFI elections will be illegal," he asserted.

The court has taken note of it and said lest it should cause prejudice to anybody, prima facie, it seems HAWA is not eligible to cast votes.

The Indian Olympic Association-appointed ad-hoc panel governing the WFI had initially scheduled the elections for July 6 but was forced to reschedule the polls to July 11 after disaffiliated state bodies from Maharashtra, Haryana, Telangana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh approached it for a hearing, claiming that their dismissal was not appropriate.

The panel heard the aggrieved representatives of the state bodies but the polls could not go ahead even on July 11 with the Gauhati High Court staying the elections after the Assam Wrestling Association (AWA) sought the right to participate in the poll process.

The Supreme Court then paved the way for elections to be held on August 12 after staying the Gauhati High Court order before Friday's development had again put a question mark on the poll process.