Delhi High Court Grants Centre Extension in WFI Suspension Case

The Delhi High Court extended the Centre's deadline to respond to the Wrestling Federation of India's petition against its suspension. The suspension, issued in December 2023, followed the WFI's election of new office bearers allegedly without constitutional adherence. The court will reconvene in October for further hearings.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted four additional weeks to the Centre to respond to a petition filed by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) contesting its suspension.

The WFI was suspended by the Centre on December 24, 2023, shortly after the election of new office bearers, for allegedly violating its own constitutional provisions while making decisions.

The Centre requested additional time to file its response, explaining that it was awaiting the outcome of a related petition by certain wrestlers challenging last year's WFI elections.

The petitioner's counsel criticized the Centre for not adhering to the court's previous directives to file the reply, emphasizing that the indefinite suspension was issued without issuing a show cause notice. Consequently, an interim order was sought at this stage.

Justice Sanjeev Narula, however, declined to pass an interim order, stating that pleadings need to be complete first.

'Without the pleadings, I can't,' the judge remarked, noting substantial time had already elapsed.

The respondent's counsel assured the court that a reply would be filed within four weeks. The matter is listed for further hearing in October, with relevant records to be presented by the authorities.

The petitioner argued that the Sports Ministry's decision infringed upon the WFI's constitutional provisions and the National Sports Code, which requires a show cause notice and adherence to natural justice principles.

The Centre had previously asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to form an ad-hoc committee to manage WFI affairs. In February, the UWW lifted the suspension, prompting the IOA to dissolve its ad-hoc committee on March 18.

Last month, the high court assigned the IOA's ad-hoc committee's mandate for the WFI to a single-judge bench, based on appeals from celebrated wrestlers like Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, and Satyawart Kadian.

(With inputs from agencies.)