IOA plans to hold WFI elections on July 4, appoints Retd Justice Mahesh Mittal as returning officer

Justice Mittal Kumar can decide the date of the SGM and the elections on his own and it will be up to him to hold the polls on July 4 or a few days later.

FILE PHOTO: Indian wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, and Sakshi Malik address a news conference. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Monday appointed Justice (retd.) Mahesh Mittal, former chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, the returning officer to conduct the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections on July 4.

“Elections are required to be conducted at the Special General Meeting of the WFI called on July 4, 2023... We look forward to your confirmation of acceptance and smooth conduct of the elections of WFI,” IOA’s joint secretary and acting CEO Kalyan Chaube wrote in a letter to Justice Mittal.

As the wrestlers returned to protest for a second time in April over several allegations, including sexual harassment, against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the Sports Ministry declared the initial call for elections on May 7 as null and void and asked the IOA to form an Ad-hoc Committee to run the WFI and hold its polls.

IOA, on April 27, decided to form an Ad-Hoc Committee, comprising Bhupender Singh Bajwa and Suma Shirur and set a deadline of 45 days to complete the WFI elections. Amid delays and pressure from the International Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling, the IOA finally announced the date for the polls.