NB Explains | Why did Sports Ministry suspend Sanjay Singh-led WFI?

What happened?

This also comes in light of fresh protests by wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia over the election of an aide of deposed WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh as the new president of the wrestling federation.

Notably, 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.


"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.

"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.

What does Sanjay Singh say?

Sanjay Singh said the newly elected body has not flouted any norms and sought the revocation of the suspension. Speaking to PTI, Sanjay Singh said, “We have not flouted rules, we will seek revocation of WFI suspension from government. If the suspension is not lifted, we can explore legal options to challenge it.”


"We will explain that we have followed rules in taking decisions. We will present the proofs. Whatever decisions were taken, were taken by consensus. It was not my personal decision. 24 state associations had given affidavits and we have got e-mails, we have everything in writing," he added.

Now what?

Meanwhile, after suspending WFI, the Sports Ministry asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to constitute an ad-hoc body to control and manage its affairs.

“…It becomes incumbent on part of the IOA to make suitable arrangements for the interim for managing the affairs of WFI so that sportspersons of wrestling discipline do not suffer in any manner and the principle of good governance in the sports body do not get jeopardised," a letter signed by Tarun Pareek, under-secretary to the Government of India, read.

The Sports Ministry asked the IOA to constitute the panel at the earliest.