Court Seeks BFI Stance On HP Boxing Association's Dispute Over Elections

Last Updated:May 30, 2025, 17:44 IST

Justice Mini Pushkarna listed the issues to be dealt with for the 18th of August, when a similar petition from Delhi Amateur Boxing Association is also scheduled to be discussed.

Boxing Federation of India (BFI)

The Delhi High Court sought the Centre and the Boxing Federation of India’s stand on a petition by the Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association, and former sports minister Anurag Thakur over a dispute pertaining to the elections of the federation.

Justice Mini Pushkarna also looked for a response from the Indian Olympic Association and Ajay Singh, who headed BFI when the elections were initially scheduled for March 28. The judge went on to list the issues to be dealt with for the 18th of August 18, when a similar petition from the Delhi Amateur Boxing Association is also scheduled to be discussed.

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The current petition was scheduled for hearing after the Supreme Court referred all pleas concerning the BFI elections to the Delhi High Court on May 19.

In their petition, the Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association (HPBA) and Thakur challenged a March 7 order by the then BFI president Ajay Singh, which limited nominations for the electoral college to elected members of state associations only.

They also contested the resultant “arbitrary" exclusion of Thakur from the electoral roll based on the order “without any hearing or explanation."

Thakur, an executive member of HPBA, was nominated to contest the elections on March 28.

The petitioners sought directions for the BFI elections to be conducted under the independent supervision of a returning officer appointed by the high court, as well as the inclusion of their nominees in the electoral college. The petitioners were represented by advocate Chaitanya Mahajan.

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The petition challenges the arbitrary and mala fide conduct of Mr. Ajay Singh, former president of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), who, despite his term expiring on 02.02.2025, continued to unlawfully interfere with the BFI electoral process, manipulate the electoral college, and deny legitimate representation to the petitioners.

The petitioners argue that the entire sequence of events, including the manipulation of the electoral roll, disregard of court orders, and misappropriation of federation funds, necessitates immediate intervention by the court to protect the integrity of the electoral process.

On March 19, addressing a petition by the Delhi Amateur Boxing Association, the court stayed the federation’s March 7 decision to allow only elected members of its affiliated state units to represent their respective states in the upcoming elections.

The Delhi Amateur Boxing Association approached the high court after the final list of the electoral college, approved by the then returning officer, excluded the names Rohit Jainendra Jain and Neeraj Kant Bhatt, deeming them “ineligible" based on the March 7 circular.

(With Inputs From PTI)

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