The Supreme Court agreed to hear a plea challenging the selection of India’s dressage team for the upcoming Asian Games after riders Anush Agarwalla and Sudipti Hajela questioned their exclusion. While listing the matter, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah remarked, “It’s my favorite sport.”
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the plea concerning the selection of India’s dressage team for the upcoming Asian Games in Japan. A petition has been filed challenging the Delhi High Court’s order that dismissed appeals by riders Anush Agarwalla and Sudipti Hajela, who were excluded from the final squad.
The matter was mentioned urgently before a Supreme Court Bench of two Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Sheel Nagu on the petition of the two players.
While agreeing to list the petition day after tomorrow Justice Amanullah said,
“It’s my favorite sport,”
Just yesterday, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia upheld the June 29 judgment of a single judge. That earlier order had refused to interfere with the selection process used by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI). Agarwalla and Hajela both part of India’s gold medal-winning dressage contingent at the 2022 Asian Games had challenged the June 16 selection list released by the EFI ad hoc committee. Under that list, they were included only as the first and second reserve riders, respectively.
While dismissing the appeals, the High Court’s Division Bench stated that it did not find any flaw in the preparation of the list of six probable riders. However, it observed that the EFI did not strictly follow certain provisions contained in its own selection criteria. Despite those remarks, the Court held that ordering a fresh selection exercise at this stage was not feasible and would not be in the larger interest of Indian sport. The Court pointed out that the deadline for finalising entries was July 15, 2026, which made it impossible to conduct fresh selection trials.
The High Court observed,
“Having regard to the deadline of July 15, 2026, it is logistically impractical to conduct a further competition within the time frame available, particularly since the riders and horses are located at different places across the globe and transporting horses from different locations to a common venue for conducting a competition amongst all six probables would not be possible in such a short span of time,”
The Court further held:
“We are constrained to refrain from interfering with the impugned judgment. Such restraint is warranted in the larger interest of the sport and to avoid any adverse impact on the prospects of the Indian team participating in the dressage event at the Asian Games.”
The High Court refused to change the selected squad, but directed the EFI to ensure strict compliance with its selection criteria in future selections.
The case followed challenges by Agarwalla and Hajela to multiple elements of the selection process. Their objections included how the Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MERs) were calculated, how the selection policy was interpreted, the alleged lack of additional selection trials, and claims of bias in the selection committee. The single judge earlier rejected all these contentions, holding that the selection process was fair and did not display arbitrariness, perversity, or procedural impropriety that would justify judicial interference.
The Asian Games are scheduled to take place in Japan from September 19 to October 4, 2026.
On July 3, the Delhi High Court reserved its orders in the plea. On July 2, the Court had asked for the personal presence of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) after the EFI’s ad hoc committee refused to accept the Union government’s proposal. The government had suggested an independent evaluation of the rankings of six riders competing for selection to India’s dressage team for the upcoming Asian Games.
On June 29, the Court strongly criticised the ad hoc Executive Committee and the Selection Committee of the EFI. It questioned their failure to adhere to the prescribed selection criteria while finalising the Indian Dressage Team for the 20th Asian Games. The Court also directed the Union of India and the IOA to assist it on how the alleged illegality could be corrected.
The Bench expressed serious concern that the mandatory selection process under Clause 15 had not been followed. It also noted that once selection criteria are framed, the authorities are expected to comply with them rather than ignore certain provisions selectively while finalising the team. The Court further highlighted practical complications, observing that some horses and riders were positioned in different countries. As a result, any fresh selection exercise would also have to take into account international quarantine requirements applicable to horses before the Asian Games.
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