The Supreme Court on Friday deferred to July 13 the hearing on a petition challenging the Delhi High Court's refusal to interfere with the non-selection of riders Anush Agarwalla and Sudipti Hajela in India's dressage team for the upcoming Asian Games in Japan. A Bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Shree Chandrashekhar postponed the hearing to Monday, after petitioners' advocate expressed apprehension that the matter would become infructuous by July 15.
Recusal and adjournment
On Thursday, the hearing on the petition filed by riders Agarwalla and Hajela was deferred by a day as Justice KV Viswanathan recused from the case. The duo has challenged the high court's refusal to interfere with the selection list issued by the Equestrian Federation of India's (EFI) Ad-hoc Committee on June 16, 2026, for the Dressage discipline at the Asian Games scheduled to be held in Japan from September 19 to October 4, 2026.
High court ruling
On July 6, the high court had refused to interfere with the non-selection of Agarwalla and Hajela, upholding a single judge's order denying relief to both riders who were gold medal winners from the Asian Games 2022. They had moved the high court against the selection decisions made by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI). However, dismissing their appeals, the high court said while it did not find any infirmity with the preparation of the list of probables, the EFI had failed to duly comply with certain clauses of the selection criteria. It concluded that a fresh trial was not possible at this stage and exercised “restraint” in the larger interest of sports and to avoid any adverse impact on the country's prospects at the Asian Games. The high court had asked the EFI to strictly comply with the selection criteria.
Single judge decision
On June 29, the single judge had upheld the EFI's selection process for the Asian Games dressage team, dismissing petitions filed by Agarwalla and Hajela. The single judge had held that the selection criteria were applied fairly and there was no arbitrariness, perversity or procedural impropriety warranting judicial interference. They had challenged the June 16 selection list issued by the EFI's ad hoc committee for the dressage event at the Asian Games, where they were placed as reserve riders—Agarwalla as first reserve and Hajela as second reserve—while four riders were selected ahead of them. The single judge, however, rejected all their challenges, including objections to the calculation of Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MERs), the interpretation of the selection criteria, the absence of additional selection trials and allegations of bias in the selection committee.
