The Sports Ministry of India has suspended the newly appointed Sanjay Singh-led Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) after it found it in violation of the constitutions of the WFI. The Sports Ministry announced the decision on Sunday (December 24) and it brings a premature end to Sanjay Singh's reign as the president of the WFI who came into power on Thursday, December 21.
Notably, the Sanjay Singh-led body is copping the brunt of a "hasty" decision that it made on the day it was voted into power.
The Sanjay Singh-led administrative body announced the U15 and U20 nationals on Thursday without giving prior notice and scheduled it in Nandini Nagar, Gonda, Uttar Pradesh from December 28-30.
The Sports Ministry took cognizance of the matter after carefully considering the entire matter and has taken the required action.
"As per clause 3 (e) of preamble of constitution of WFI, 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," a press release of the Sports Ministry read.
"Such decisions are to be taken by Executive Committee, before which agendas are required to be placed for consideration. 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," it said.
In addition to that, the Sports Ministry has also found that the Secretary General of the WFI was not involved in the meeting of the Executive Committee that finalised the U15 and U20 nationals in Nandini Nagar, Gonda.
The press release also illustrates that the Anurag Thakur-led Sports Ministry has discovered that the newly elected WFI "appears to be in complete control of former office bearers in complete disregard to the Sports Code and the business of the Federation is being run from the premises controlled by former office bearers".
And since the former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is under court trial for his alleged involvement in the sexual harassment of some female wrestlers, his participation or the participation of any of the members who were a part of the preceding committee in WFI's decision making policy is unjust.
"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.
"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. There are crucial to built trust among athletes, stakeholders, and the public," the press release further read.
Notably, the United World Wrestling (UWW), the apex governing body of the sport, is yet to issue an official communication lifting the suspension of the WFI and the sports ministry has instructed the WFI to "suspend all its activities till further orders".
Significantly, the UWW had imposed a ban on the WFI in August for not holding its elections on time.
