WFI Election Scheduled to be Held on August 12 After SC Lifted Interim Stay

In a notification, the Returning Officer, Justice MM Kumar, in charge of the election of the Wrestling Federation of India’s Executive Committee, has confirmed that the election will be held on August 12, 2023 (Saturday).

The Apex Court rendered a decision on July 18, 2023, lifting the temporary suspension imposed on the WFI election by the Gauhati High Court. This decision was taken in response to a plea submitted by the Andhra Pradesh Amateur Wrestling Association against the Gauhati High Court’s interim order.

The case was brought before a division bench comprising Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti, who, while considering the plea, issued a notice and stayed the said interim order. In a subsequent hearing on July 24, 2023, the Supreme Court ordered that the stay on the interim order would continue until further orders. The matter was also listed six weeks after affidavits and rejoinders were filed.

This interim order was issued on the grounds that the Assam Wrestling Association wouldn’t be able to nominate its representatives to take part in the WFI election unless it was affiliated with the WFI, and the State’s wrestlers also wouldn’t get a chance to participate in any of the national tournaments organised by the Federation. The Single Judge Bench of Justice Nani Tagia had explicitly directed the WFI’s Executive Committee to refrain from conducting the scheduled election.

However, the recent decision by the Supreme Court has lifted the interim stay on the WFI’s executive committee elections, thereby allowing the electoral process to proceed. Consequently, the notification from the office of the Returning Officer of the WFI elections was released immediately after the Supreme Court’s order, scheduling the elections for August 12, 2023.