In a groundbreaking development, the Supreme Court has nullified the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s interference in the Executive Council elections of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). Expressing firm opposition to the High Court’s decision to stay the elections through an interim order, the Supreme Court asserted its unequivocal position that elections should not be halted.
The court questioned the rationale behind the High Court’s decision, stating, “We fail to comprehend how the entire election process could be nullified by the High Court. The appropriate course would have been to allow the election to proceed and make it subject to the outcome of the pending writ petition. Consequently, the contested order granting interim relief has been set aside.”
With this verdict, the path is now clear for the Wrestling Federation of India to carry out its Executive Council elections. The Supreme Court underscored that the election’s outcome would be contingent on any subsequent orders in the ongoing writ petition before the P&H High Court.
The court mandated, “The Returning Officer is free to proceed with the election by publishing a revised election program. We emphasize that the election’s result will be subject to orders that may be passed in the writ petition. We have made no judgment on the merits of the controversy in the writ petition. The appeal is allowed on the aforementioned terms.”
The Supreme Court bench, comprised of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Pankaj Mithal, heard the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the Ad-Hoc Committee of WFI against the P&H HC’s interim order, which had halted the Wrestling Federation of India’s election.
The Ad-Hoc Committee, acting as the petitioner, oversees the day-to-day affairs of the WFI due to the expiration of its Executive Council term and various controversies involving WFI officials.
In this instance, the Returning Officer had announced the elections and their schedule on June 13, 2023, with the actual polling set for July 6, 2023. However, facing challenges in determining the genuine state association affiliated with the WFI from several regions, the RO sought additional time.
Amidst these proceedings, the Assam Wrestling Association obtained an ex-parte order from the Guwahati High Court to halt the elections. On July 18, 2023, the Supreme Court lifted the stay imposed by the Guwahati High Court’s order dated June 25, 2023.
Following this, the RO rescheduled the Executive Committee elections for August 12, 2023. However, on July 25, 2023, the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued an interim order staying the Returning Officer’s decision from May 25, 2023, regarding the formation of the Electoral College in Haryana State.
Challenged by this last-minute stay, the petitioner filed an SLP before the Supreme Court, questioning the necessity of halting the elections just one day before their scheduled date on August 12, 2023.
Justice Oka, expressing reservations about the High Court’s interim order, asked, “How could the election be stayed? It could be challenged subsequently. We have strong reservations about the High Court passing an interim order and staying the elections.”
The counsel for the Haryana Wrestling Association raised allegations of a forged letter, challenging the legitimacy of the affiliation of respondent 5 (Haryana Amateur Wrestling Federation).
Despite these arguments, Justice Oka remained unconvinced, emphasizing, “Where is the question of staying the election?”
The counsel suggested, “Now that the Haryana association has acknowledged the existence of a forged letter, that objection may be considered before issuing a fresh election schedule, deciding on merits…”
Justice Oka responded, “We will not pass any observations. The moment we make an observation, it will lead to more petitions.”
On a lighter note, he concluded, “We don’t want to pass any observations here because we’re afraid of the wrestlers.”
