New Delhi: The legal battle over who will to govern amateur wrestling in Maharashtra took a sharp turn this week as the Bombay High Court upheld the Wrestling Foundation of India’s (WFI’s) decision to disaffiliate the Sharad Pawar-led-Maharashtra Wrestling Association (MWA). It also confirmed the rival BJP-led Maharashtra Rajya Kustigir Sangh as the WFI’s recognised state unit.
This ruling also strips the ex-Maharashtra CM and Rajya Sabha member, Sharad Pawar, who also served as president of MWA, of his administrative authority to govern wrestling in the state. The rival, Maharashtra Rajya Kustigir Sangh, is led by BJP MP Ramdas Tadas.
The bench of justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande concluded that the MWA, under Pawar’s leadership, was validly disaffiliated due to “substantial” findings of misconduct, including embezzlement and administrative failures, thereby ending his faction’s long-standing tenure in the federation.
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How the storm brewed
Tensions began in June 2022, when the WFI Executive Committee, then led by BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, unanimously voted to dissolve the MWA. Although the High Court initially quashed this dissolution in November 2022—restoring the MWA’s right to complete its tenure—the trouble was only beginning.
Within days of that victory, the WFI initiated a fresh inquiry against the MWA, leveling serious allegations of administrative and financial misconduct, including failure to hold elections since 2015, neglecting to submit audited accounts, and prioritising “Commercial Leagues” over sanctioned National Championships.
Things changed when, in January 2023, the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports suspended the WFI’s “ongoing activities” and appointed an Oversight Committee following allegations of sexual harassment and financial mismanagement against the WFI’s leadership. The move was triggered by sit-in protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi by the top medal-winning Indian athletes, including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, and Bajrang Punia.
Despite this federal intervention, the WFI’s Disciplinary Committee recommended the MWA’s disaffiliation in April 2023, a move ratified by the WFI General Council.
The MWA argued that the entire disaffiliation process was a product of “political vendetta and foul play” intended to restrict their functions. It further contended that since the ministry had suspended all activities of the WFI in January 2023, the federation and its Disciplinary Committee lacked the legal competence to pass any orders.
Furthermore, the MWA asserted that the disaffiliation violated the WFI Constitution, which limits such drastic actions on three specific grounds: non-observance of directives, failure to hold elections, or failure to submit accounts. They maintained they had not been given a fair opportunity to represent their case, characterising the order as ‘arbitrary and without any reason’.
Why court ruled against MWA
In its detailed 61-page judgement, the court first clarified that while the WFI is not a ‘State’ under Article 12 of the Constitution, the federation is amenable to writ jurisdiction because it performs public functions of national importance, such as selecting teams for the Olympics.
However, the court rejected the MWA’s argument that the WFI was a “non-existent” body during the 2023 suspension. The judges noted that the suspension only applied to “ongoing activities” and the Executive Committee’s day-to-day management. The General Council, which the court described as the federation’s “sovereign body”, was never suspended and retained its constitutional power to disaffiliate member units.
The court found the Disciplinary Committee’s findings on MWA to be substantial, with evidence of financial embezzlement and the faking of documents regarding the appointment of observers. Crucially, the court observed that the MWA’s Secretary General, B.S. Landge had in fact participated in the inquiry and provided responses, meaning there was no violation of the principles of natural justice there.
Finally, the court highlighted that the disaffiliation was ratified by a newly elected WFI General Council in December 2023—a decision the MWA failed to challenge legally.
(Edited by Vidhi Bhutra)
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