Sports ministry suspends Sanjay Singh-led new Wrestling Federation of India body over 'hasty' announcement

New Delhi: The Sports Ministry on Sunday suspended the Sanjay Singh-led new Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) body over 'hasty' announcement to hold nationals.

As per sources, the ministry issued a letter stating, “Sanjay Kumar Singh, newly elected President of Wrestling Federation of India announced on 21.12.2023, the day he was elected as president, that U-15 and U-20 nationals for Wrestling will take place in Nandini Nagar, Gonda (UP) before the end of this year.

"This announcement is hasty, without giving sufficient notice to wrestlers who are to take part in the said nationals and without following the provisions of the constitution of WFI.”

The letter further read that as per clause 3 (e) of preamble of constitution of WFI, object of the WFI, among others, is to arrange holding of Senior, Junior and Sub Junior National Championships as per UWW Rules at places selected by the Executive Committee.

“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.

“Further, in terms of the Article X (d) of Constitution of WFI, it is Secretary General of WFI, who has been made responsible for carrying out the general business of the Federation, keeping the minutes of the meetings, maintaining all the records of the Federation, calling the meetings of the General Council and the Executive Committee. It seems Secretary General has not been involved in the said meeting of EC, which was held without any notice or quorum.”

It also stated that newly elected body appears to be in complete control of former office bearers in complete disregard to the Sports Code

“The business of the Federation is being run from the premises controlled by former office bearers. Which is also alleged premises wherein sexual harassment of the players have been alleged and present the court is hearing the matter. 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 letter read.

“Further, UWW, the international body for wrestling, is yet to issue official communication lifting the suspension of WFI. WFI has been instructed to suspend all its activities till further orders.”

The Sports ministry is yet to share an official statement on the matter to media.