The Union government on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that the suspension order against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has been revoked in the larger interest of Indian sports and athletes..The Bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela then disposed of an appeal filed in this regard by the WFI."Order dated March 10 passed by the Ministry of Sports has been tendered at Court. By the said order, the suspension of WFI issued in 2023 has been revoked and its recognition as the National Sports Federation for wrestling has been restored. In view of the March 10 order, the instant LPA is hereby disposed of with a request to the Single Judge to expedite hearing the matter," the Court said. .The WFI had filed an appeal challenging a single-judge order allowing restoration of the Ad Hoc Committee constituted by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in December 2023 to take care of the daily functioning of WFI. Today, the Division Bench observed that the single-judge also had clarified the ad Hoc Committee would be operational only till such time as the suspension order remains in force. .Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta, appearing for the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, apprised the Court that the recognition of the WFI has been restored with immediate effect by way of an order passed on March 10.The Sports Ministry made the decision after considering the critical need to ensure uninterrupted participation of the Indian wrestlers in international events, the Court was told..The controversy has its genesis in the wrestlers’ protest against former WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. After his tenure ended, Sanjay Singh became the head of the wrestling federation. He is considered close to Brij Bhushan Singh.The Centre in December 2023 had suspended the WFI on December 24, 2023, just three days after it elected the new office-bearers "in the wake of lapses regarding governance and procedural integrity by the newly elected body, which apparently was in control of former office bearers in complete disregard to the provisions of the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011."The government then asked the IOA to constitute an ad hoc committee to manage and control its affairs. However, the United World Wrestling (world wrestling body) in February 2024 lifted the suspension of WFI which led to IOA dissolving the committee.In August 2024, the single-judge restored the ad hoc committee, leading to the appeal before the Division Bench..[Read Notification]
