In Sunday hearing, Gauhati High Court stays upcoming Wrestling Federation of India Executive Committee elections

The Gauhati High Court on Sunday stayed the upcoming elections to the executive committee of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). [Assam Wrestling Association and anr v. Wrestling Federation of India and anr].Justice Nani Tagia passed the interim order in a plea alleging the failure to affiliate the Assam Wrestling Association with the WFI, which meant that the former could not participate in the elections.The Court has ordered the WFI not to proceed with the polls that were earlier scheduled on July 11 as per a notification dated June 13.The High Court also sought the response of the WFI and the Union Sports Ministry in the matter before listing the case for July 17..The plea was moved by the Assam Wrestling Association and the President of the Assam Olympic Association.The petitioners have prayed that the Assam Wrestling Association be granted affiliation to the WFI, as per earlier assurances and recommendations of the erstwhile executive committee.Without such affiliation, the State of Assam would be deprived of any participation in national tournaments organised by the WFI, thereby affecting the interests of wrestlers in Assam, the Court was told..As such, the petitioners prayed for a stay on the upcoming polls till the Assam Wrestling Association was made part of the electoral college..Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia and Advocate B Gogoi appeared for the petitioners before the High Court..Notably, the resolution to grant affiliation to the Assam Wrestling Association was passed by an executive committee meeting in 2014 under the chairmanship of tainted former WFI Chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.Singh presently stands accused of sexual harassment by various female wrestlers. After a criminal complaint was lodged by the Delhi Police in the matter, the Supreme Court recently closed the proceedings before it, which had alleged police inaction in the case.The police recently filed its chargesheet in the case, implicating the Kaiserganj Member of Parliament for the offences of outraging a women's modesty, criminal intimidation, making sexually coloured remarks, and stalking.Olympian wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat, had earlier carried out a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi seeking action against Singh..[Read order]