The Supreme Court on Friday deferred hearing the appeals challenging the selection of India’s dressage team for the 2026 Asian Games, observing that the matter had reached the Bench too late in the day for an effective hearing.
A Bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Shree Chandrashekhar was hearing the appeals filed against the Delhi High Court’s refusal to interfere with the selection of the Indian dressage team, despite noting procedural irregularities in the selection process adopted by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI).
When the matter was taken up, counsel for the appellants urged the Court to hear it urgently, pointing out the time-sensitive nature of the dispute in view of the impending deadlines connected with the Asian Games. The Bench, however, declined to take up the matter, observing that it had not had sufficient time to examine the case papers.
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“We will have it on Monday then… It came very late. That is why we are spending so much time in dealing with these cases. We could not read all these.”
Counsel then pointed out that the quarantine process for the horses was scheduled to commence on July 13, making the matter particularly urgent, and requested that it be listed high on Monday’s board. Even then, the Bench directed that the matter be listed on Monday.
The appeals arise from the Delhi High Court’s judgment declining to interfere with the EFI’s selection of the Indian dressage team for the Asian Games 2026, even while recording that certain procedural requirements under the selection criteria had not been complied with.