SC closes WFI plea against Vinesh Phogat’s Asian Games trials participation

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday disposed of as infructuous the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) plea challenging a Delhi High Court order that had allowed wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the Asian Games 2026 selection trials.

A Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Aravind Kumar closed the proceedings after noting that the selection trials, which formed the subject matter of the dispute, were already over.

The apex court clarified that the closure of the case should not be construed as an endorsement of the Delhi High Court’s observations against the WFI. “In view of subsequent developments, this SLP is rendered infructuous. This Court will not be taken as having reiterated the findings and observations of the High Court. The issues are kept open,” the Justice Narasimha-led Bench said while disposing of the matter.

During the hearing, senior advocate D.N. Goburdhun, appearing for the WFI, urged the top court to expunge certain observations made by the High Court against the federation while granting interim relief to Phogat.

The senior counsel contended that the Delhi High Court had made adverse remarks against the WFI, including observations suggesting mala fides on the federation’s part, and argued that those findings could prejudice proceedings pending before a single-judge Bench of the High Court.

Goburdhun submitted that although Phogat had been permitted to participate in the trials, the observations contained in the High Court’s order, particularly from paragraph 31 onwards, ought to be deleted as the matter remains pending before the High Court. However, the Justice Narasimha-led Bench declined to expunge the adverse observations and proceeded to close the proceedings, while making it clear that its order should not be read as affirming the findings recorded by the Delhi High Court.

The matter reached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court permitted Phogat to participate in the Asian Games 2026 selection trials despite her not fulfilling the eligibility requirements under the WFI’s revised selection policy.

In an interim order passed last month, a Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia had allowed Phogat to participate in the trials, observing that motherhood could not be treated as a ground for exclusion from professional opportunities.

The Delhi High Court had prima facie held that the WFI’s policy framework failed to adequately account for the wrestler’s maternity-related break and post-partum recovery period. Subsequently, the Supreme Court, while entertaining the WFI’s appeal, had permitted Phogat to participate in the selection trials held on May 30 and 31, even as it expressed reservations over certain observations made by the Delhi High Court at the interim stage and flagged issues relating to the wrestler’s anti-doping obligations.

Phogat’s comeback bid, however, ended in disappointment at the selection trials held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. Competing in the women’s 53kg category after the WFI revised its initial decision restricting her to the 50kg division, she lost 4-6 to Meenakshi Goyat in the semifinals and failed to qualify for the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

IANS