SC sets aside stay imposed by Punjab and Haryana HC on WFI elections
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on holding of elections to the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
A bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal said it failed to understand how the entire process of the election could have been set at naught by high court.
"Pending a writ petition filed by the Haryana Wrestling Association, by an interim order the high court has stayed the election of WFI. We fail to understand how the entire process of the election could have been set at naught by HC. The proper course would have been to allow the election to be conducted and make the election subject to the outcome of the pending writ petition.
"Accordingly, the impugned order granting interim relief is set aside. It will be open for returning officer to proceed with the election by publishing a revised election program. We make it clear that the outcome of the election will be subject to orders that may be passed in the petition," the bench said.
The top court had earlier sought the response of the Centre and others on a plea by the ad-hoc committee constituted to run the WFI challenging a stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on holding elections to the wrestling body.
The ad-hoc panel had moved the apex court against the September 25 order of the high court putting the elections on hold.
The top court had on August 29 refused to interfere with the high court's order staying the WFI elections.
The development had come days after United World Wrestling, the global governing body for the sport, suspended WFI for not conducting its elections on time.
The Indian Olympic Association-appointed ad-hoc panel governing the WFI had initially scheduled the elections for July 6 but was forced to reschedule it to July 11 after some disaffiliated state bodies from Maharashtra, Haryana, Telangana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh approached it for a hearing, claiming their dismissal was not appropriate.
The panel heard the aggrieved representatives of the state bodies but the polls could not be held even on July 11, with the Gauhati High Court staying the elections after the Assam Wrestling Association sought the right to participate in the poll process.
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China confirms its support to Pakistan during four-day conflict with India
Beijing (PTI): China, for the first time, has confirmed that it provided on-site technical support to Pakistan during the four-day conflict with India last year, official media reports here said.
China's state broadcaster CCTV on Thursday aired an interview with Zhang Heng, an engineer from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China's (AVIC) Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute, a key developer of China’s advanced fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle design.
Zhang had provided technical support to Pakistan during the four-day war last May, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported, quoting CCTV.
Pakistan's air force operates a fleet of Chinese-made J-10CE jets, produced by an AVIC subsidiary.
"At the support base, we frequently heard the roar of fighter jets taking off and the constant wail of air-raid sirens. By late morning, in May, the temperature was already approaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). It was a real ordeal for us, both mentally and physically,” Zhang said.
What drove his team was the "desire to do an even better job with on site support” and to ensure their equipment could “truly perform at its full combat potential”, Zhang told CCTV.
“That wasn’t just a recognition of the J10CE; it was also a testament to the deep bond we formed through working side by side, day in and day out,” he said.
