SC sends Anurag Thakur, others to Delhi HC following dispute over BFI elections

THe sublime margaret court on mon transferred all on-going judicial proceeding on the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) elections lying before the Himachal Pradesh high court to the Delhi HC to streamline the adjudication process and prevent conflicting judicial outcomes. The top court said that cases pending before the Himachal Pradesh high court, including those filed by BJP leader and former Union sports minister Anurag Thakur, and the Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association (HPBA), will stand disposed of, granting liberty to the petitioners to either initiate fresh proceedings before the Delhi HC or join existing cases already pending hearing there. A bench comprising justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh passed the order with the consent of all parties involved. The respondents, including BFI, agreed not to raise objections on the grounds of territorial jurisdiction before the Delhi HC. The apex court noted that it was preferable for one forum to consider all related disputes. “Ideally, we should have the viewpoint of one high court,” the SC said. The top court clarified that the stay granted earlier by a division bench of the Himachal Pradesh HC, which had halted the BFI election process, will continue to remain in force for the next six weeks. The SC gave all parties the liberty to seek the continuation or modification of such stay before the Delhi HC. Thakur had moved the Supreme Court challenging his exclusion from contesting the presidential election for BFI. He, along with the HPBA, filed the plea against the Himachal Pradesh HC order that effectively halted the BFI election process. In his plea, Thakur, an executive member of HPBA, a state unit affiliated with the BFI, argued that he was lawfully nominated by the association to contest the presidential elections scheduled for March 28. However, he claimed that his nomination was arbitrarily rejected on March 18 without a notice or a hearing, allegedly at the behest of former BFI president Ajay Singh. The disqualification was based on a March 7 notification issued by Singh, the outgoing BFI president. The notification restricted electoral participation to elected members of affiliated state units, effectively barring Thakur and several others. Petitioners argued that the notification was not only arbitrary and in breach of the BFI’s Memorandum of Association, but also violative of the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011. While a single judge bench of the Himachal Pradesh HC initially stayed Thakur’s disqualification and directed BFI to reopen nominations, a division bench later overturned this order citing lack of jurisdiction, prompting Thakur and the other petitioners to move the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, however, refrained from examining the contention that the dispute had become infructuous owing to changes in the international recognition status of BFI.