The Supreme Court on Tuesday (7 July) agreed to urgently hear a plea challenging the selection of India's dressage team for the 2026 Asian Games, days after the Delhi High Court refused to interfere with the final squad despite finding procedural shortcomings in the selection process followed by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI).
A Bench of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Sheel Nagu agreed to list the matter for hearing on July 9, 2026, following an urgent mentioning by senior counsel. During the hearing, Justice Amanullah remarked with a smile, "It's my favorite sport."
The challenge was brought by two riders who had questioned their exclusion from the final dressage squad after being placed on the reserve list. They had earlier approached the Delhi High Court, seeking judicial intervention in the selection process adopted by EFI's ad hoc committee.
While the High Court found that EFI had not fully followed certain mandatory steps under its own selection policy including requirements relating to the preparation and publication of the list of probable riders it declined to order a fresh selection exercise because of the approaching deadline for submitting India's team for the Asian Game
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The Delhi High Court observed that EFI's explanation for not following the prescribed procedure was not convincing and noted that the federation had acted with "undue haste" during the selection process.
At the same time, the Court held that reopening the selection at such a late stage was not practically possible. It observed,
"Having regard to the deadline of July 15, 2026, it is logistically impracticable to conduct a further competition within the time available."
The High Court also directed EFI to strictly comply with its selection criteria in future selections.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court accepted the request for an urgent hearing and scheduled the matter for July 9, 2026. The appeal challenges the Delhi High Court's refusal to interfere with the selected team despite recording procedural irregularities in the selection process.
The matter will now be considered by the Supreme Court on the scheduled date.
Case Details
Case Title: Anush Agarwalla v. Ad-Hoc Committee for Governance of Equestrian Federation of India
Case Number: Diary No. 39652/2026
Judge: Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Sheel Nagu
Decision Date: July 7, 2026
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