Government didn’t follow ‘proper procedure’ while suspending WFI, will challenge in court: Sanjay

Newly-elected WFI president Sanjay Singh challenges Sports Ministry's suspension of wrestling national body in court.

Newly-elected WFI president Sanjay Singh on December 28 said that the sports ministry did not follow "proper procedure" while suspending the wrestling national body and will challenge the government's decision in a court.

The Sports Ministry on December 24 suspended the WFI, three days after its elections were held, for flouting its own constitution while taking certain decisions, including the announcement of U-15 and U-20 National Championships.

Sanjay, however, said that the "autonomous" and "democratically elected" body could not have been suspended by the government without hearing the WFI's side of the story.

"We have won the elections (of WFI) democratically. The returning officer was the retired chief justice of J&K High Court, there were observers from the IOA and UWW (United World Wrestling). There were 22 state units (three absent out of 25 state associations) taking part in the elections, 47 votes were polled out of which I got 40," Sanjay told PTI.

"After all these, if you say we are suspended, we are not going to accept it. A democratically-elected body was not given a chance to explain its position which is against the principle of natural justice which everybody is entitled to under the Constitution of India."

Asked what is the way forward for his body, he said, "WFI is an autonomous body and the government has not followed proper procedure. We are going to talk to the government and if it (government) does not take back the suspension, we are taking legal opinion and going to court." He said since the WFI is contesting the suspension, he does not accept the three-member ad-hoc committee formed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Wednesday to run the day-to-day affairs of the national sports body.

He said the visit by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in an akhada in Haryana to meet Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia made it clear that the trio, who led the five-month-long protest accusing former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexually harassing women grapplers, were playing politics.