{"id":385478,"date":"2026-05-29T11:30:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T06:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=385478"},"modified":"2026-05-29T11:25:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T05:55:43","slug":"del-hc-permits-vinesh-phogat-to-participate-in-2026-asian-games-trials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/05\/29\/del-hc-permits-vinesh-phogat-to-participate-in-2026-asian-games-trials\/","title":{"rendered":"Motherhood Can’t Be Ground to Exclude Women Athletes from Competitive Sport; Delhi HC Permits Vinesh Phogat to Participate in 2026 Asian Games Trials"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Delhi High Court:<\/span> In an appeal filed by wrestler Vinesh Phogat-appellant challenging the Single Judge’s order dated 18 May 2026 wherein appellant was granted liberty to file a comprehensive reply to the show-cause notice but declined permission to participated in the selection trial for Asian Games 2026 pending adjudication, the Division Bench of Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, CJ., and Tejas Karia*<\/span>, J., permitted the appellant to participate in the Selection Trials for Asian Games 2026, scheduled for 30 May 2026 and 31 May 2026, thereby reinforcing the constitutional guarantee that maternity cannot become a basis for exclusion or disadvantage in professional or sporting careers.<\/p>\n

Also Read: SC strikes down S. 60(4) of Social Security Code limiting Maternity Benefits for Adoptive Mothers; Bats for legal recognition of Paternity Leave<\/a><\/p>\n

Factual Matrix<\/h3>\n

The appellant is an internationally acclaimed wrestler who has represented India at the highest levels including the Olympic Games, World Championships, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. She had secured several distinctions for the country, including bronze medals at the 2019 and 2022 World Wrestling Championships, gold medals at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games, and medals at the Asian Games. She had consistently brought laurels to the nation and occupied the status of an iconic athlete in Indian wrestling.<\/p>\n

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) is a recognised National Sports Federation governing wrestling in India under the aegis of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and affiliated with United World Wrestling (UWW). It was entrusted with administration, regulation and selection of wrestlers for international events including the Olympic Games and Asian Games. The Union of India through the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports exercised regulatory and administrative control over recognised National Sports Federations. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is the apex body responsible for development and representation of Olympic sports in India and coordination of participation in multi-sport international events.<\/p>\n

On 6 December 2024, the International Testing Agency (ITA) informed the appellant that she had been included in the UWW Registered Testing Pool. Subsequently, on 14 December 2024 and 15 December 2024, the appellant informed the ITA that she would remain on sabbatical until August 2025 as she was pregnant. She further stated that she would comply with all return-to-competition requirements and provide prior notice before resuming participation.<\/p>\n

When clarification was sought regarding her retirement status, the appellant clarified on 18 December 2024 that her retirement was temporary and not permanent, and that she intended to return to competitive wrestling after the sabbatical.<\/p>\n

On 30 June 2025, the appellant informed the ITA and UWW that her sabbatical had ended and that she intended to resume training from 15 July 2025. The ITA acknowledged her return and expressly confirmed through communication dated 3 July 2025 that she would be eligible to compete from 1 January 2026 onwards.<\/p>\n

The appellant gave birth to her first child in July 2025 and thereafter resumed training. On 12 December 2025, she informed the Sports Authority of India (SAI), UWW and Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) Programme that she had resumed wrestling training following childbirth and sought support for future international competitions including the 2028 Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

The Asian Games Selection Policy and Circular dated 25 February 2026 restricted eligibility for the Asian Games trials only to medal winners of specified domestic tournaments including the 2025 Senior National Wrestling Championship, 2026 Federation Cup, Under-20 National Championship and Under-23 National Championship. The Selection Circular dated 6 May 2026 reiterated this framework and limited participation in the trials to medal winners of designated championships held during 2025 and 2026.<\/p>\n

On 9 May 2026, WFI issued a show-cause notice to the appellant relating to the Paris Olympic weigh-in controversy, despite the issue having already been adjudicated before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Pursuant thereto, WFI rendered the appellant ineligible from participating in WFI competitions and events till 26 June 2026, including the Senior Open Ranking Tournament at Gonda.<\/p>\n

The appellant alleged that both the policy framework and the show-cause notice were arbitrary, discriminatory and intended to exclude her from participation.<\/p>\n

Also Read: Maternity Benefit Act Applies to Guest Faculty: MP High Court Holds Eighty Working Days Bar Inapplicable to State Government Establishments<\/a><\/p>\n

Proceeding before Single Judge<\/h3>\n

The appellant filed a writ petition questioning the legality of the Asian Games Selection Policy dated 25 February 2026 and the Selection Criteria Circular dated 6 May 2026, insofar as they excluded the appellant from participation in the Asian Games 2026 selection trials scheduled for 30 May 2026 and 31 May 2026. The appellant further sought quashing of the show-cause notice dated 9 May 2026 issued by WFI and prayed for conduct of the selection trials under independent supervision by representatives of the IOA and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to ensure transparency and fairness.<\/p>\n

The Single Judge had issued notice and granted liberty to the appellant to file a comprehensive reply to the show-cause notice but declined interim protection despite the imminent trials.<\/p>\n

Aggrieved by the refusal to permit participation pending adjudication, the appellant approached the Division Bench by way of the present appeal.<\/p>\n

Also Read: Objectives of population control & providing maternity leave to working women not mutually exclusive & must be rationally harmonised: SC<\/a><\/p>\n

Issue for Determination<\/h3>\n

Whether, during the pendency of the writ petition, the appellant be permitted to participate in the Asian Games 2026 selection trials scheduled for 30 May 2026 and 31 May 2026 despite the restrictions contained in the impugned policy, circular and show-cause notice?<\/p>\n

Analysis<\/h3>\n

At the outset, the Court observed that motherhood is celebrated both in India and globally and “becoming a mother can never become a disability”. It acknowledged that a legal or regulatory framework which expressly or impliedly disadvantages a woman due to pregnancy or post-partum recovery would violate Articles 14<\/a> and 21<\/a> of the Constitution<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Court further recognised the extraordinary physical challenges faced by female athletes during pregnancy and post-partum recovery and stated that institutional sporting frameworks cannot remain oblivious to these physiological realities and disadvantages related to childbirth that female athletes undergo during maternity.<\/p>\n

The Court held that motherhood must receive accommodation and institutional sensitivity and should never become a basis for exclusion or marginalisation of women athletes. It found that the appellant’s inability to participate in qualifying championships was directly attributable to her maternity-related sabbatical and childbirth as duration of her maternity and recovery from the same coincided with the schedule of the Championships.<\/p>\n

The Court further condemned the WFI’s remarks contained in the show-cause notice referring to the 2024 Paris Olympics incident as a “national embarrassment”. It termed such observations as “deplorable”, “retrograde” and reflective of mala fide intent. It observed that despite the CAS award clearly finding no wrongdoing, WFI had sought to stigmatise the appellant unfairly.<\/p>\n

The Court prima facie held that the appellant had made out a strong case for challenging the policy and circular as arbitrary and discriminatory because they confined eligibility only to medal winners of specific years, thereby effectively excluding the appellant from participation.<\/p>\n

The Court further observed that the appellant had duly informed ITA, UWW and SAI regarding her sabbatical and return to competition and had obtained confirmation that she was eligible to compete from 1 January 2026 onwards.<\/p>\n

The Court noted that the current selection criteria represented a marked deviation from past practice, especially since earlier guidelines gave discretion to WFI to permit iconic players to participate in trials even without conventional qualification routes. The grounds contained in the show-cause notice appeared pre-mediated and aimed at reopening settled issues.<\/p>\n

Further, the Court observed that the impugned framework failed to provide any accommodation for maternity-related absence and therefore warranted examination on merits by the Single Judge.<\/p>\n

“Due to maternity, a woman cannot be prejudiced in any manner in terms of her employment, career, ranking and promotion during the period of maternity leave.”<\/p>\n

Also Read: Himachal Pradesh HC allows maternity leave to female government employee for her third child; reiterates stand taken by SC in K. Umadevi [2025]<\/a><\/p>\n

Decision<\/h3>\n

Ultimately, the Court held that in the interest of sport and justice, and because the circumstances were beyond the appellant’s control, she deserved interim protection pending adjudication of the writ petition.<\/p>\n

The Court disposed of the appeal with the following directions:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    The appellant was permitted to participate in the Asian Games 2026 Selection Trials scheduled for 30 May 2026 and 31 May 2026.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    The selection trials were directed to be video-recorded by WFI.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    The Union of India was directed to nominate 2 independent observers from the Sports Authority of India and the Indian Olympic Association to observe the trials and submit a report before the learned Single Judge in the pending writ petition.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Court clarified that all observations were confined only to the limited question of interim participation and that the writ petition would be decided independently on merits without being influenced by the present order.<\/p>\n

    Also Watch: Supreme Court Strikes Down Age Cap on Adoptive Maternity Leave<\/a><\/p>\n

    [Vinesh Phogat<\/span> v. Wrestling Federation of India<\/span>, 2026 SCC OnLine Del 3925<\/a>, decided on 22-5-2026<\/span>]<\/p>\n

    *Judgment authored by Justice Tejas Karia<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

    Advocates who appeared in this case:<\/p>\n

    Mr. Raj Shekhar Rao, Senior Advocate with Mr. Ritwik Prakash, Ms. Vishakha Gupta, Ms. Aashita Khanna and Mr. Neil M. Goswami, Advs., Counsel for the Appellant<\/p>\n

    Mr. Hemant Phalpher and Mr. Karishmit Keswani, Advs., Counsel for the Respondent 1<\/p>\n

    Mr. Udit Dedhiya, SPC with Ms. Apurva Sachdev and Mr. Preyansh Gupta, Advs., Counsel for the Respondent 2\/Union of India<\/p>\n

    Buy Constitution of India  HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n

    \"Constitution<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Court condemned Wrestling Federation of India’s “National Embarrassment” remark against Vinesh Phogat with regards to 2024 Paris Olympic Games mishap, which had led to her disqualification.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67514,"featured_media":385479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[7292,13681,105544,67299,2543,87202,105546,105548,71051,59616,105547,105545,55936],"class_list":["post-385478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-article-14","tag-article-21","tag-asian-games-2026","tag-chief-justice-devendra-kumar-upadhyaya","tag-Delhi_High_Court","tag-justice-tejas-karia","tag-maternity-rights-in-sports","tag-motherhood-and-sports","tag-sports-law","tag-vinesh-phogat","tag-wfi-selection-policy","tag-women-athletes-rights","tag-wrestling-federation-of-india"],"yoast_head":"\nDel HC permits Vinesh Phogat to participate in 2026 Asian Games Trials | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Delhi High Court permits wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in Asian Games 2026 selection trials, holding that motherhood and maternity-related absence cannot become grounds for exclusion from competitive sports.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/05\/29\/del-hc-permits-vinesh-phogat-to-participate-in-2026-asian-games-trials\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Motherhood Can\u2019t Be Ground to Exclude Women Athletes from Competitive Sport; 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