Delhi High Court grants more time to Centre to respond to WFI's plea against suspension

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted four more weeks to the Centre to respond to a petition by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) challenging its suspension.

The Centre had suspended the WFI on December 24, 2023, three days after it elected new office bearers, for allegedly not following the provisions of its own constitution while taking decisions.

The Centre sought four more weeks to file response to the plea which first came up for hearing in April, saying that it was awaiting the decision of the high court on a petition by certain wrestlers challenging the election held in the WFI last year.

The counsel for the petitioner asserted that the Centre does not "care about" the court's earlier directions asking it to file the reply.

Emphasising that the indefinite suspension order was passed without first giving any show cause notice, the petitioner's counsel urged the court to pass an interim order at this stage.

Justice Sanjeev Narula, however, said that an interim order cannot be passed without the pleadings being completed.

"There is no question of granting interim order here. Without the pleadings, I can't," the judge said.

"Substantial time has lapsed. Yet pleadings are not complete. Counsel for the respondent said reply will be filed in four weeks," the court stated.

Listing the matter for further hearing in October, the court asked the authorities to also bring the relevant record pertaining to the case.

The petitioner, in his plea, has said the Sports Ministry’s decision to suspend the WFI violates the constitutional provisions of the WFI as well as the National Sports Code which contemplates issuance of show cause notice and the principles of natural justice.

The Centre had suspended the WFI's recognition on December 24, 2023, three days after it elected the new office bearers, for allegedly not following the provisions of its own constitution while taking decisions and requested the IOA to constitute an ad-hoc committee to manage and control its affairs.

In February, the UWW lifted the suspension on the WFI, leading to the IOA also dissolving its ad-hoc committee for wrestling on March 18.

On August 16, a single judge bench of the high court restored the mandate of the IOA's ad hoc committee for the Wrestling Federation of India on a plea by celebrated wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and her husband Satyawart Kadian.