Delhi High Court dismisses petition against Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia's exemption from Asian Games trials

The Delhi High Court on Saturday struck down the petition filed by wrestlers Antim Panghal and Sujeet Kalkal against the exemptions from Asian Games trials given to Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia. “Writ petition is dismissed,” said Justice Subramonium Prasad as the  Delhi High Court refused to interfere in the matter, according to Bar and Bench. The court maintained that the decision taken by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) ad-hoc committee that is in charge of running the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) cannot be said to be “arbitrary or perverse”. “This Court is not commenting upon the merits of the Petitioners herein who have also excelled in the field of wrestling but this Court is not inclined to sit in appeal over the decision taken by the Committee as the same cannot be said to be arbitrary or perverse. “It is neither the contention of the Petitioners nor can it be said that the WFI has acted against the interest of the country or that the decision has been taken because of certain extraneous circumstances or in order to favour anyone,” added Justice Prasad. Read | Brij Bhushan says exemption to Bajrang, Vinesh will 'hurt wrestling' The IOA ad-hoc panel’s decision to award direct entry to Olympic medallist Punia and world championships medallist Phogat into the Asian Games by exempting them from trials has created quite the stir in recent weeks. Apart from Panghal and Kalkal filing the petition at the Delhi High Court, several wrestlers and their parents protested at the venue for the trials in New Delhi. As a result of the protests, the trials at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in the national capital will go ahead behind closed doors. Panghal won the 53kg freestyle trials final on Saturday before the court had even announced its decision on the petition. Phogat (53kg) and Punia (65kg) were given direct entry for the Asian Games by the IOA’s ad-hoc committee on Tuesday, while other wrestlers will have to earn their places in the Indian squad through selection trials on 22 and 23 July. “They (Vinesh and Bajrang) don’t need to participate in the trials, they are under training and they will directly participate in the Asian Games,” Indian Olympic Association (IOA) lawyer Vikas Singh said, according to PTI. Panghal and Kalkal moved the high court on 19 July challenging the exemption and demanded a fair selection process for the quadrennial showpiece event. The petition, moved by advocates Hrishikesh Baruah and Akshay Kumar, had demanded that the directive issued by the IOA ad-hoc committee with regard to the two categories (men’s freestyle 65kg and women’s 53kg) be quashed and the exemption granted to Phogat and Punia set aside. Both Phogat and Punia were heavily involved in the protests against outgoing WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment by six women wrestlers. Besides Phogat and Punia, 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik was also part of the protests that took place primarily in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar before spreading to other parts of the national capital as well as in cities such as Haridwar. Malik had recently commented on the exemptions granted to Phogat and Punia, maintaining she never wanted an exemption for herself while alleging the move to be an attempt by the government to “break wrestler unity”. With inputs from PTI