The Wrestling Federation of India has been given the nod by the Supreme Court of India to conduct the elections. The court on Tuesday overruled the stay on the WFI elections by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
According to PTI, a bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal set aside the stay on the elections, paving the way for the WFI to hold the elections soon.
”Pending a writ petition filed by the Haryana Wrestling Association, by an interim order, the high court has stayed the election of WFI. We fail to understand how the entire process of the election could have been set at naught by HC. The proper course would have been to allow the election to be conducted and make the election subject to the outcome of the pending writ petition,” said the bench in its ruling.
”Accordingly, the impugned order granting interim relief is set aside. It will be open for returning officer to proceed with the election by publishing a revised election program. We make it clear that the outcome of the election will be subject to orders that may be passed in the petition,” the bench added.
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The delay in WFI elections – A timeline
The WFI elections were initially scheduled to be held on July 4. However, there were several delays after some disaffiliated state bodies approached for a hearing, claiming their dismissal was not appropriate.
The Gauhati High Court then stayed the elections after the Assam Wrestling Association sought the right to participate in the poll process.
Following this, the elections were scheduled on August 12. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court heard a petition and extended the stay on Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections till September 25.
The stay order came in the wake of a petition filed by the Haryana Wrestling Association (HWA). It challenged the move to allow the Haryana Amateur Wrestling Association to cast votes in the WFI polls.
While the UWW, the international body for Wrestling issued a warning during the delay. However, in August the UWW suspended the WFI due to its inability to hold elections in a democratic way. An ad hoc committee set up by the Indian Olympic Association is running the affairs of WFI at present.
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