The newly elected governing committee of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), headed by Sanjay Singh, has been suspended by the Ministry of Sports. The WFI has been instructed to suspend all its activities till further orders. The move came in the wake of ace wrestler Sakshi Malik’s announcement of quitting wrestling and Bajrang Punia’s decision to return his Padma Shri.
Singh was elected WFI chief on December 21. Soon after, the wrestlers opposed his appointment on grounds of his closeness to the former, an accused of sexual harassment.
The action came right after the newly elected WFI chief announced that the under-15 (U-15) and under-20 (U-20) nationals would take place in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda before the end of this year. Notably, Gonda is Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s home turf.
What Did the Sports Ministry’s Order Say?
As per the sports ministry’s suspension order accessed by CNNNews18, the action has been taken on account of transparency and other issues.
The order said that Singh’s announcement regarding U-15 and U-20 nationals was hasty, without giving sufficient notice to wrestlers who are to take part in the said nationals and without following the provisions of the constitution of WFI.
“As per clause 3 (e) of the Preamble of the Constitution of WFI, the object of the WFI, among others, is to arrange holding of Senior, Junior and Sub Junior National Championships as per UWW Rules at places selected by the Executive Committee. Such decisions are to be taken by the Executive Committee, before which agendas are required to be placed for consideration,” it said.
The order mentioned that as per Article XI of the WFI constitution under the Heading ‘Notices and Quorum for Meetings’, the minimum notice period for EC meetings is 15 clear days and quorum is of one third of the representatives. “Even for Emergency EC meetings, the minimum notice period is seven clear days with quorum requirement of one third of representatives,” it noted.
Further, in terms of Article X (d) of the Constitution of WFI, it is the Secretary General of WFI, who has been made responsible for carrying out the general business of the Federation, keeping the minutes of the meetings, maintaining all the records of the Federation, calling the meetings of the General Council and the Executive Committee, the Ministry noted.
“It seems the Secretary-General has not been involved in the said meeting of EC, which was held without any notice or quorum. The newly elected body appears to be in complete control of former office bearers in complete disregard to the Sports Code,” the order said.
The Ministry further stated that the business of the Federation is being run from the premises controlled by former office bearers.
“The decisions made by the newly elected executive body of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) demonstrate a blatant disregard for the established legal and procedural norms, violating both the WFI’s constitutional provisions and the National Sports Development Code,” it added
The ministry asserted that Singh’s actions smack of complete arbitrariness on the part of the President, “which is against the settled principles of good governance and devoid of transparency and due process.”
“Adherence to governance norms is vital for ensuring fair play, transparency and accountability. They are crucial to building trust among athletes, stakeholders, and the public. Further, UWW, the international body for wrestling, is yet to issue official communication lifting the suspension of WFI,” it added.
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