BJP leader and former Union Minister Anurag Thakur has approached the Supreme Court challenging his exclusion from contesting the presidential election of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI). Thakur, along with the Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association (HPBA), has filed a plea against a Himachal Pradesh High Court order that effectively halted the BFI election process.

The Supreme Court is set to hear Thakur’s petition on Monday.

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 his nomination was arbitrarily rejected on March 18 without notice or a hearing, allegedly at the behest of former BFI president Ajay Singh.

“The HPBA is a registered society located within Himachal Pradesh. Its representatives, including Anurag Thakur, were unlawfully excluded from the electoral college list issued by BFI on the instructions of Ajay Singh, former president,” the plea said.

Thakur contended that the electoral college list issued by the BFI had unlawfully excluded HPBA representatives, including himself. This exclusion, the plea states, was based on a notification dated March 7, which introduced additional eligibility criteria for nominations.

The BJP MP argued the notification was not only issued after Ajay Singh’s tenure had ended but was also in violation of the BFI’s Memorandum and the National Sports Code.

“The notification, issued after the expiry of Mr. Ajay Singh’s tenure as president, was not only arbitrary, but also the BFI memorandum and the National Sports Code. Thakur’s candidacy was arbitrarily rejected without notice or hearing on March 18, despite the HPBA having duly nominated him as its official representative in accordance with the BFI electoral guidelines,” the plea added.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court initially granted interim relief on March 20, directing the inclusion of HPBA’s nominees in the electoral college. Thakur described the order as a “well-reasoned” step towards preserving democratic functioning within the federation.

However, this relief was later paused by a division bench of the High Court in April, prompting the current appeal before the Supreme Court.

Thakur’s petition also challenged the High Court’s pause on the grounds that it ignored the principle of territorial jurisdiction. He argued that since HPBA was a registered society within Himachal Pradesh and part of the cause of action arose there, the High Court had sufficient jurisdiction to hear the matter.