Supreme Court refuses to interfere with stay on WFI elections

The Supreme Court refused to interfere with the Punjab and Haryana High Court order to hold the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections on Tuesday.

The bench of the Supreme Court asked the Andhra Pradesh Amateur Wrestling Association to approach the high court with its grievances.

“Why should we entertain this? You go to the high court... Instead of applying for vacating the interim stay, the petitioner has chosen to approach the Supreme Court. We, therefore, decline to entertain this special leave petition,” the bench said and granted the petitioner liberty to seek impleadment as a party in the high court.

The decision came days after the Wrestling Federation of India was suspended by UWW for not conducting its elections on time. As a result, the country's grapplers will not be able to compete at the upcoming World Championships under the Indian flag.

The apex court also asked the high court to give necessary priority to the case, if the petitioner files a plea for impleadment.

The top court was hearing a plea by the Andhra Pradesh Amateur Wrestling Association against the August 11 order of the high court staying the election.

The ad-hoc committee appointed by the Indian Olympic Association failed to conduct the elections within the stipulated time and was served a warning by UWW.

Earlier scheduled for 6th July, the elections were rescheduled to July 11 after disaffiliated state bodies from Maharashtra, Haryana, Telangana, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh approached it for a hearing, claiming 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.