Supreme Court Stays Gauhati HC Order Putting Wrestling Federation Of India Elections On Hold

The Gauhati High Court's decision to put on hold the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections has been stayed by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court bench, comprising of Justices Aniruddha Bose and SV Bhatti, has issued notices to the Union Sports Ministry, Wrestling Federation of India, Assam Wrestling Association, and others on a plea challenging the 25 June order of the Gauhati HC.

During the hearing, the counsel representing the petitioner, Andhra Pradesh Amateur Wrestling Association, informed the bench that a third party had approached the high court on Sunday (16 July) and managed to obtain a stay on the matter.

This has resulted in a delay in the Wrestling Federation's elections, according to the petitioner.

Earlier on Monday (17 July), the high court had fixed 28 July as the next date for hearing the petition filed by the Assam Wrestling Association.

The elections for the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) were scheduled to take place on 11 July. However, the Gauhati High Court stayed the polls in response to the AWA's plea seeking right to participate in the election process.

The AWA had claimed that it should be recognised as an affiliated member of the WFI with voting rights. However, AWA was denied recognition by the national federation despite the Assam state association's Executive Committee recommending the same on 15 November 2014, according to the state wrestling association.

The Gauhati High Court issued an order to stay the polls on 25 June, which was the last day for submitting names for the electoral college.