The Supreme Court on Thursday, 4 June, disposed of as infructuous the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) plea challenging a Delhi High Court order that had cleared wrestler Vinesh Phogat to compete in the Asian Games 2026 selection trials. The apex court closed the matter after noting that the trials at the heart of the dispute had already concluded.

What the Supreme Court said

A Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Aravind Kumar made it explicit that the closure should not be read as approval of the High Court's observations against the federation. ‘In view of subsequent developments, this SLP is rendered infructuous. This Court will not be taken as having reiterated the findings and observations of the High Court. The issues are kept open,' the Bench said while disposing of the matter.

WFI's bid to expunge observations

During the hearing, senior advocate D.N. Goburdhun, appearing for the WFI, urged the top court to expunge certain observations made by the Delhi High Court while granting interim relief to Phogat. He argued that the High Court had recorded adverse remarks, including findings suggesting mala fides on the federation's part, which could prejudice proceedings still pending before a single-judge Bench.

Goburdhun submitted that the observations from paragraph 31 onwards ought to be deleted, given that the matter remained sub judice. The Justice Narasimha-led Bench, however, declined to expunge the remarks and instead closed the proceedings with the caveat that its order should not be read as affirming the High Court's findings.

How the dispute reached the top court

The matter travelled to the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court permitted Phogat to take part in the Asian Games 2026 trials despite her not meeting eligibility requirements under the WFI's revised selection policy. In an interim order last month, a Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia held that motherhood could not be treated as a ground for exclusion from professional opportunities.

The High Court had prima facie observed that the WFI's policy framework failed to adequately factor in the wrestler's maternity break and post-partum recovery period. The Supreme Court, while entertaining the WFI's appeal, had permitted Phogat to compete in the trials held on 30 and 31 May, even as it flagged reservations over the High Court's interim observations and raised concerns over the wrestler's anti-doping obligations.

How Phogat fared at the trials

Phogat's comeback bid ended in disappointment at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. Competing in the women's 53kg category — after the WFI revised its initial decision restricting her to the 50kg division — she lost 4-6 to Meenakshi Goyat in the semifinals and failed to qualify for the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

What happens next

With the SLP closed but the underlying issues kept open, the larger question of how India's selection policies accommodate maternity breaks now returns to the Delhi High Court's single-judge Bench. The verdict there could shape eligibility norms for returning athletes across federations.