The Delhi High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by the All India Pickleball Association (AIPA) challenging the decision of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) to recognise the Indian Pickleball Association (IPA) as the National Sports Federation (NSF) for the sport of Pickleball in India.
The petition arose after MYAS, by an order dated 25 April 2025, granted recognition to IPA while declining to recognise AIPA, which claimed to have been promoting pickleball in India since 2008 and asserted superior credentials, international affiliations, and compliance with the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011.
AIPA alleged that the Ministry acted arbitrarily and mala fide by ignoring its application and by granting recognition to IPA, an entity incorporated only in November 2024 after granting relaxations from key provisions of the Sports Code, including the requirement of three years’ existence and district-level affiliations. It was argued that such relaxations violated binding judicial precedents mandating strict compliance with the Sports Code.
The Union of India and IPA defended the recognition, relying on the Relaxation Clause (Clause 16) introduced into the Sports Code in 2021, which empowers the Government to relax provisions where necessary and expedient for the promotion of sports. The Ministry submitted that both applications were comparatively assessed and that IPA demonstrated higher compliance with governance norms, wider national reach with 26 affiliated State/UT units, and stronger international affiliation with the Global Pickleball Federation (GPF). It was also pointed out that pickleball presently lacks an IOC-recognised international federation.
Justice Sachin Datta, after examining the record and rival submissions, held that the Ministry’s decision was a policy determination taken after due consideration and did not suffer from arbitrariness or illegality. The Court noted that the validity of the Relaxation Clause had already been upheld by a coordinate Bench in Rajasthan Equestrian Association v. Union of India, and that the earlier Division Bench observations in Rahul Mehra v. Union of India did not prohibit the exercise of relaxation powers introduced subsequently in 2021.
The Court further observed that recognition of an NSF falls within the executive domain of the Ministry and that AIPA did not possess any legally enforceable right to claim recognition merely on the basis of longer existence or rival credentials. It found no infirmity in the limited relaxations granted to IPA, particularly in light of pickleball being an emerging sport.
Accordingly, the High Court upheld the recognition of the Indian Pickleball Association as the NSF for Pickleball and dismissed the writ petition, along with connected applications.
Appearances:
For the Petitioner: Mr. Dayan Krishnan, Sr. Advocate along with Mr. Gautam Narayan, Mr. Hemant Phalpher, Mr. R. A. Iyer, Ms. Disha Joshi and Mr. Sukrit Seth, Advocates.
For the Respondent: Mr. Jayant Mehta, Sr. Advocate along with Ms. Arunima Dwivedi, CGSC, Mr. Aakash Pathak, GP, Ms. Pinky Pawar, Mr. Sainyam Bhardwaj, Advocates and Mr. Mohd. Zeeshan, Consultant for UOI.
Mr. Rajshekhar Rao, Sr. Advocate along with Mr. Ashish Verma, Mr. Saksham Thareja, Mr. Nikhil Thakur and Mr. Kartikey Bhargava, Advocates for R-2.
Mr. D. N. Goburdhan, Sr. Advocate along with Mr. Kunal Kohli, Ms. Shreyha Kohli, Advocates for proposed Respondent no.3.
