The Bombay High Court on Monday upheld the decision of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to de-affiliate the Maharashtra State Wrestling Association (MSWA), headed by Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar, from the national wrestling body.
The Division Bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande dismissed the appeal filed by the MSWA challenging its de-affiliation and replacement by the Maharashtra Rajya Kustigir Sangh (MRKS). A detailed judgement is awaited.
The dispute arose after the WFI decided on January 1, 2023, to withdraw the affiliation granted to the Maharashtra State Wrestling Association and recognise the Maharashtra Rajya Kustigir Sangh as the affiliated state body for wrestling activities in Maharashtra. Aggrieved by the decision, the MSWA approached the Bombay High Court seeking judicial intervention.
Before the Court, the MSWA contended that the decision to de-affiliate it was arbitrary, illegal and procedurally flawed. It argued that the decision had allegedly been taken by an Oversight Committee rather than by the Executive Committee of the WFI, which, according to the Association, lacked the authority to take such action under the applicable rules and regulations governing the federation.
The litigation has its origins in earlier disputes between WFI and MSWA. In July 2022, the WFI dissolved the elected executive body of the MSWA, which had been led by Sharad Pawar for more than four decades. The federation justified its action on the grounds that the state association had allegedly failed to organise certain wrestling tournaments and events.
The MSWA challenged the dissolution before the Bombay High Court. In November 2022, the single-judge Bench of Justice Sandeep Shinde set aside the WFI’s action and held that the decision to suspend and dissolve the elected body of MSWA was unreasonable, illegal and contrary to the principles governing fair sporting administration.
The Court had observed that the decision of the WFI Executive Committee was taken in violation of the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness, as the affected office-bearers were not granted an adequate opportunity of hearing before the adverse action was taken. The Court further held that the elected body of MSWA would continue in office until the completion of its tenure and would be entitled to carry out its day-to-day functions in accordance with its constitution.
Subsequently, however, the WFI proceeded with the de-affiliation of the MSWA and granted recognition to the Maharashtra Rajya Kustigir Sangh. This decision became the subject matter of the present proceedings before the Division Bench.
After considering the rival submissions, the Division Bench dismissed the challenge mounted by the MSWA and upheld the WFI’s decision to de-affiliate the association.
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