Delhi High Court rejects petitions filed by Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat challenging WFI elections

The Delhi High Court has dismissed filed by wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik challenging the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI)'s elections in December 2023. The petitions filed by the top wrestlers were rejected after they failed to appear before the court for hearings on multiple dates.

Bajrang, Vinesh and Sakshi led a protest against former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in 2023, accusing him of harassing and assaulting young women wrestlers. The top wrestlers demanded a change in guard in the WFI after expressing their disappointment at the way the wrestlers were being treated by the body.

However, in December 2023, Singh, a close aide of Brij Bhushan was elected as the new president of the WFI after sweeping the elections. The outcome of the polls once again sparked outrage among the top wrestlers, with Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik announcing her retirement from wrestling.

Singh became the WFI president after beating Anita Sheoran, who was the candidate backed by the three wrestlers. Following the election results, the wrestlers filed petitions in court challenging the poll verdict, alleging that the WFI elections were not conducted in a fair and transparent manner.

In their pleas, the wrestlers demanded the court's interventions in what they claimed were procedural lapses and irregularities in the election process. However, their petitions were dismissed by Justice Mini Pushkarna in the Delhi High Court.

While hearing the matter on November 27, Justice Pushkarna noted that none of the petitioners were present during the hearings. He also noted that the petitioners remained absent for the court proceedings during the last two hearings in the matter.

"The petitioners do not seem to be interested in prosecuting the present matters," the court said in its order while dismissing the petitions filed by Bajrang, Vinesh and Sakshi.

The Delhi High Court's ruling brings an end to the legal battle challenging the fairness of the WFI elections. After leading the protests against Brij Bhushan, Vinesh went on to create history at the Paris Olympics by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the final at the showpiece event.

However, she missed out on a medal after failing to make weight ahead of her gold-medal bout. She missed her weight by around 100 grams, leading to her disqualification. Both Vinesh and Bajrang joined the Indian National Congress last year and are active politicians.