WFI elections: Punjab & Haryana HC extends stay till Sept 25

The returning officer appointed for the WFI elections on July 25 had rejected an HWA plea urging for removal of the representatives nominated by a separate body — the Haryana Amateur Wrestling Association (HAWA) — to the electoral college of the national wrestling body.

The HWA, headed by Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda, had challenged the move in the high court. The HAWA had contended that it was affiliated to WFI and thus eligible to vote. The Deepender Hooda-led body, however, had challenged it saying saying HAWA may be affiliated with the WFI but it is not affiliated with the Haryana Olympic Association, meaning “it is not entitled to participate in the poll process”.

Taking note of the contentions, the court held that “prima facie, it seems that the HAWA is not eligible to cast votes” and stayed the WFI elections.

The Indian Olympic Association-appointed ad-hoc panel governing the WFI had initially scheduled the elections for July 6 but was forced to reschedule the polls to July 11 after disaffiliated state bodies from Maharashtra, Haryana, Telangana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh approached it for a hearing, claiming that their dismissal was not appropriate.

The panel heard the aggrieved representatives of the state bodies but the polls could not go ahead even on July 11 with the Gauhati High Court staying the elections after the Assam Wrestling Association (AWA) sought the right to participate in the poll process.