Bombay HC Dismisses Sharad Pawar Led Wrestling Body Appeal Against De-affiliation

The Bombay High Court in Mumbai on Monday, June 15, 2026, dismissed a writ petition filed by the Maharashtra State Wrestling Association, led by NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, challenging its de-affiliation by the Wrestling Federation of India. The ruling upholds the national federation's decision to strip the decades-old state body of its official recognition.

A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande rejected the petition, holding that the decision to de-affiliate the Maharashtra State Wrestling Association (MSWA) was made by the Wrestling Federation of India's (WFI) general counsel. The court noted that the general counsel is a body distinct from the executive committee and was not under any embargo from making such a decision.

The long-standing dispute escalated after the WFI replaced the MSWA with the Maharashtra Rajya Kustigir Sangh (MRKS), led by former BJP MP Rajendra Tadas, on January 1, 2023.

In its legal challenge, the MSWA argued that its own executive committee had not made the de-affiliation decision, claiming the WFI's action was illegal and arbitrary. The association highlighted that Sharad Pawar had successfully controlled and administered the body for decades. Pawar’s party had headed the MSWA committee for over 40 years until it was dissolved in 2022.

The WFI defended its decision during the hearings, pointing to the MSWA's failure to conduct certain tournaments. The de-affiliation was executed by the WFI's oversight committee in 2023, under the leadership of then-WFI head Brij Bhushan Singh.

This ruling follows a complex legal history between the state wrestling body and the national federation. In November 2022, a single-judge bench of Justice Sandeep Shinde had quashed a July 2022 decision by the WFI to dissolve the MSWA's elected committee, ruling that the action breached the principles of natural justice. That court had allowed the elected body to remain in office until their tenure expired.

However, the subsequent 2023 de-affiliation by the WFI's general counsel has now been upheld by the High Court bench, solidifying the replacement of the Pawar-led association.