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The Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea seeking to remove Ajay Singh as the President of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and to appoint an independent ad-hoc committee to oversee its administration.

Justice Saurabh Banerjee held that the petitioner- Delhi Amateur Boxing Association, could not seek reliefs beyond the scope of the pending writ petition through an interim application, particularly when it sought to challenge subsequent events and fresh causes of action.

The Court was hearing an application filed in a writ petition instituted by the Delhi Amateur Boxing Association on August 23.

The Association had sought a direction to cease the functioning of Ajay Singh as BFI President and asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to appoint an independent ad-hoc body to take over and supervise the administration, management, finances and day-to-day functioning of the Federation during the pendency of the writ petition.

The Court observed that the reliefs sought in the application were beyond the prayers made in the main writ petition. It noted that the Association was seeking to litigate subsequent events and fresh causes of action through the application.

The Association had argued that the application was maintainable in view of a prayer made in the main writ petition. However, the Court rejected the contention.

It also noted that an earlier application seeking interim relief against the operation, implementation and effect of a notice dated August 16, was filed along with the writ petition and that no interim protection was granted to the Association in that application.

“Therefore, the petitioner cannot thus be permitted to once again agitate/ re-urge the very same reliefs under the guise of the present application, without challenging them independently, in the very same pending writ petition,” the Court said.

The Association also relied on a separate writ petition, reportedly filed by Ajay Singh before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Justice Banerjee declined to examine the merits of that petition, noting that the Association had already filed an application in those proceedings.

“Without going into the. merits thereof, since the same is not before this Court, and as learned senior counsel for the petitioner himself submits that the petitioner has already filed an application therein before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh, reliance thereon is of no consequence,” the Court said.

Finding no merit in the application, the Court dismissed it.

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