Centre suspends WFI over various violations
The decision comes after WFI president announced under-15 & under-20 nationals in UP's Gonda without notifying participants, a violation of WFI's constitution.
The Union sports ministry on Sunday suspended the newly elected executive committee (EC) of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and directed the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to form an ad-hoc committee to run the federation’s operations.
The ministry’s decision came days after Sakshi Malik, India’s only woman to win an Olympic medal in wrestling, announced her retirement from the sport due to the election results and Bajrang Punia returned his Padma Shri award. But the trigger was WFI president Sanjay Singh announcing the under-15 and under-20 nationals in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda — less than 50km from Brij Bhushan’s constituency of Kaiserganj — on the evening of December 21, the day he became WFI president after beating Anita Sheoran with a 40-7 margin.
Calling it “hasty”, the ministry noted that the prospective participants of the nationals were not notified and the announcement itself was a contravention of the WFI’s constitution.
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“Shri Sanjay Kumar Singh, newly elected President of Wrestling Federation of India announced on 21.12.2023, the day he was elected as president, that U-15 and U-20 nationals for wrestling will take place in Nandini Nagar, Gonda (UP) before the end of this year. This announcement is 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,” the ministry said.
The ministry also observed various violations of the WFI’s own constitution by its EC, noting the absence of WFI secretary general Prem Chand Lochab from the meeting where the decision to hold age-group nationals in Gonda was taken. Lochab is one of the two members in the 15-man EC who belongs to the protesting wrestlers’ camp, the other being senior vice-president Devender Kadian.
Lochab had, on Friday, written to Sanjay Singh requesting the postponement of the nationals since the decision was taken in his absence. “I have not received any response to that letter yet. It is not about the venue alone, it is about following the due process,” he said.
“As per Article XI of the WFI constitution under the Heading ‘Notices and Quorum for Meetings’, minimum notice period for EC meeting is 15 clear days and quorum is of 1/3rd of representatives. Even for Emergency EC meeting, minimum notice period is 7 clear days with quorum requirement of 1/3rd of representatives. Further, in terms of the Article X (d) of Constitution of WFI, it is 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. It seems Secretary General has not been involved in the said meeting of EC, which was held without any notice or quorum,” the ministry order said.
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The ministry added that WFI continues to be in “complete control of former office bearers in complete disregard to the Sports Code,” noting that the new body continues to function from its old office, which happens to be the site of an alleged sexual harassment incident.
“Newly elected body appears to be in complete control of former office bearers in complete disregard to the Sports Code. The business of the Federation is being run from the premises controlled by former office bearers. Which is also alleged premises wherein sexual harassment of the players have been alleged and present the court is hearing the matter,” it said.
“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. The actions smack of complete arbitrariness on 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.
“Further, UWW, the international body for wrestling, is yet to issue official communication lifting the suspension of WFI. WFI has been instructed to suspend all its activities till further orders,” it said.
By Sunday evening, the ministry said the WFI’s administration will be handed over to an ad-hoc committee. WFI was first suspended this year in April and the Bhupender Singh Bajwa-led ad-hoc committee ran its operations from early May till December 21.
“Taking note of the compelling current situation arising out of the influence and control of WFI’s former office bearers, serious concerns have arisen about the governance and integrity of the WFI. This requires immediate and stringent corrective measures to uphold the principles of good governance in sports organisations, and thus, it becomes incumbent on the part of IOA to make suitable arrangements for the interim period for managing the affairs of WFI,” the ministry’s directive to the IOA president said.
While the sports code violation was a major factor that led to the ministry’s crackdown on WFI, loud celebrations from Brij Bhushan’s camp after Sanjay Singh’s win didn’t go down well with the government, people familiar with the development said.
“Brij Bhushan’s statements after the win boasting about his influence on WFI didn’t sit well with the government. It made for bad optics. The ministry could have issued a show-cause notice if it was just the issue of non-compliance with the sports code, but they wanted to send a strong message,” said a ministry official who didn’t wish to be named.
The wrestlers, meanwhile, welcomed the decision. “It is a positive development in our struggle for justice. We will decide our next course of action very soon,” said Rio Olympics bronze medallist Malik, who announced her retirement after the WFI elections.