The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a petition by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) challenging a Delhi High Court directive that permitted wrestler Vinesh Phogat to compete in selection trials, terming the plea infructuous following recent developments.
A bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha and Aravind Kumar declined to scrutinise the observations made by the high court in its order. The apex court made it clear that its decision should not be construed as an endorsement of the findings in the impugned high court ruling. All related issues in the dispute have been left open for future consideration.
Senior advocate DN Goburdhun, representing the WFI, informed the court that Vinesh Phogat had taken part in the selection trials but did not qualify for the team. The counsel noted that while she failed to succeed, her participation had created significant disruption during the process. The bench observed that these subsequent events had rendered the petition infructuous.
Goburdhun further argued that certain critical remarks by the Delhi High Court against the federation—describing its decisions as “malafide” and “deplorable”—should be expunged, especially since the matter was still pending before a single-judge bench. However, the Supreme Court chose not to intervene on those observations and disposed of the plea accordingly.
The development comes after the Supreme Court had earlier permitted Phogat to participate in the trials held on May 30 and 31 for the 2026 Asian Games. The WFI had approached the apex court against the Delhi High Court’s May 22 order that allowed the veteran wrestler to enter the selection process, claiming the federation’s exclusion policy was exclusionary.
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In its previous hearing, the top court had also voiced concerns regarding the manner in which the high court had handled the case.
With Thursday’s order, the Supreme Court has effectively closed the immediate challenge by the WFI while maintaining a neutral stance on the broader merits and observations raised during the proceedings. The focus now shifts to any pending matters before the Delhi High Court concerning Vinesh Phogat’s association with the federation and future selections.