Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, and others had moved a writ petition before the Delhi High Court seeking that the court declare the elections conducted for WFI in December as illegal. Indian Olympics Association President PT Usha meets wrestler Vinesh Phogat after the latter was hospitalised following her disqualification from the Paris Olympics as she was found overweight ahead of her women's 50kg final match, in Paris. (PTI)  A day after she was disqualified at the Paris Olympics, wrestler Vinesh Phogat alleged in the Delhi High Court on Thursday the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and its president Sanjay Singh were at the Olympics village making proxy decisions on her fate. Appearing for Vinesh Phogat, Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra also pointed out that this came despite the WFI’s elected executive committee being suspended in December 2023 by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and others had moved a writ petition before the Delhi High Court earlier this year seeking that the court declare the fresh elections conducted for WFI in December 2023 as illegal and be set aside for not adhering to the sports code. Additionally, an application was also moved seeking a stay on the functioning and operations of WFI. The application was reserved for judgment on May 24, but it is yet to be pronounced. On Thursday, the petitioners, which include Phogat, through their counsel, requested before the court of Justice Sachin Datta to fix a date for the pronouncement of the verdict. The judge did not specify a date even as senior counsel Rahul Mehra, representing the petitioners, said that “India has lost a gold medal now”. Justice Datta currently sits as part of the division bench with Justice Vibhu Bakhru, and will have to specially assemble as a single judge to pronounce the verdict. Justice Datta heard the wrestlers’ petition at length since March when he was sitting as a single judge bench and had ultimately reserved the stay application for the verdict while the writ petition remains to be heard. Meanwhile, the writ petition, which came up for hearing on Thursday before the court of Justice Purushaindra Kaurav, senior counsel Mehra, appearing for the wrestlers, stated that the WFI is “being manned by proxies”. “He (Sanjay Singh, president of WFI) is right now in the Olympic village making a decision about what should happen to Vinesh Phogat”.

The Centre’s standing counsel Anil Soni clarified that “today the entire nation is with (Phogat), I’ll not argue against her.” Meanwhile, Justice Kaurav instructed the respondents to complete their pleadings within a week in the writ petition and granted time to the wrestlers to file a response to the same if they wish to, and has posted the matter next for September 12.

Mehra pressed upon the urgency of the matter, requesting for an earlier date, adding that it is “a national interest matter, the entire country is so upset.” WFI suspensions Three days after the Federation elections were conducted last year after five-time BJP MP and Indian wrestling supremo and former WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh accused of sexual harassment by wrestlers was forced to resign as the body’s president, the Union sports ministry suspended the newly-elected executive committee of the WFI, headed by Singh’s close aide Sanjay Singh.

Subsequently, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) appointed an ad-hoc committee by way of an office order on December 27, 2023, to oversee and supervise the operation of WFI, including athlete selection, submitting entries for athletes to participate in International Events, organising sports activities, handling bank accounts, etc. In February, the United World Wrestling lifted the suspension it imposed on WFI, which allowed India’s athletes to once again compete under the national flag internationally. This also resulted in WFI proposing to conduct parallel trials for international competitions. An affidavit filed by IOA president P T Usha in April before the Delhi High Court, as accessed by the Indian Express, submitted that after WFI’s suspension was revoked by UWW, the “parent body of IOA had directed the IOA to dissolve the ad hoc committee of the WFI as it had not been given any sanctity by UWW”. Usha added that in light of UWW’s revocation “there is no need for any ad-hoc committee or any one-man committee and the WFI should continue to be governed by its elected body.” On the other hand, the Union sports ministry, through its director Anant Kumar submitted in an affidavit before the court in April that the government’s suspension of recognition of WFI “subsists” and the ministry will “neither recognise nor provide any support to any activity of WFI.”