Wrestling Federation polls face fresh delay, Tripura also petitions court

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) election faces fresh delays with the Tripura state unit now petitioning the High Court of Tripura for being excluded from the electoral college.

The election, originally scheduled on July 11, was stayed by The Gauhati high court on a plea by the Assam Wrestling Association (AWA) seeking to be included in the electoral list as a 'recognised' state unit of WFI. Its petition was filed on June 25, the last date for receiving names for inclusion in the electoral college.

The Gauhati high court on Monday gave the union sports ministry time until July 26 to file an affidavit as response. The next hearing will be on July 28. The WFI elections are being held by the Indian Olympic Association’s ad hoc panel that runs the sport after the federation was suspended in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by India’s top woman wrestlers.

Besides Assam and the Wrestling Association of Tripura (WAT), eight other state units have written to the ad hoc panel over WFI 'illegally disaffiliating' state bodies during the 12-year term of the influential Singh, a sixth term MP from Uttar Pradesh. Many state units alleged that Singh used his influence to place family members and his own people in state bodies. The ad hoc body went by the list of affiliated members available with WFI, excluding Assam and Tripura as they did not figure in it.

In its court plea on July 6, the Tripura unit contended that as it didn’t receive the notice for election, it mailed letters to the returning officer (ad hoc panel) and WFI president asking why Tripura had been excluded despite being an “affiliated” unit. WAT then sent the names of its president Rupak Deb Roy and Ajit Kumar Bhaumik for inclusion in the electoral college. The state unit said another letter was also sent, saying that if WAT is kept away from election, it will approach the court.

“There is no cogent reason to deny the participation of representatives of WAT in the WFI elections. Tripura will be deprived of participation in any national tournament organised by the WFI,” the petition said.

Deb Roy said the Tripura high court was waiting for the Assam high court hearing before fixing a date of hearing.

In an earlier letter to the ad hoc committee on May 5, WAT president Deb Roy said Brij Bhushan had told him to send his son's name from Tripura for the 2015 WFI elections. “I had seen him in the elections of WFI from our (representing) Wrestling Assocation of Tripura. After some time we stopped getting any invitation for national championships. He also stopped sending invitations to WAT for tournaments and continued to deprive our state wrestlers," he wrote.

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