Delhi High Court refuses to interfere with non-selection of Naresh Sharma for Tokyo Paralympics but asks Sports Ministry to examine complaint

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Sports Authority of India and the Ministry of Youth and Sport Affairs to examine the non-selection of Arjuna Award winning shooter, Naresh Sharma by the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) for the upcoming Tokyo Paralympics 2020 [Naresh Kumar Sharma vs. Paralympic Committee of India]..A single bench of Justice Rekha Palli of the Delhi High Court stated that while the Court wouldn't interfere with the non-selection of the five-time Paralympian shooter for the Tokyo Games, nonetheless asked the Sports Ministry to look into allegations of favouritism towards another shooter as alleged by Sharma in his plea.In this regard the Court ordered,"Respondent no. 3 (Sports Ministry, Government of India) along with the Respondent no.1 or Paralympics Committee of India (PCI) is directed to examine this aspect after giving due opportunity to the petitioner. In case the inquiry finds foul play, appropriate legal recourse may be sought."Advocate Varun Singh appearing on behalf of the award-winning shooter contended that Sharma was an award winning shooter who had represented India in 2016. He also submitted that the selection of another candidate, Deepak in the 50m rifle competition was done arbitrarily, based on favouritism and lacked transparency. Singh also prayed that the selection of Deepak be quashed and that Sharma be selected instead for the forthcoming Paralympics. The petition filed through advocates Satayam Singh and Amit Kumar Sharma submitted that despite Sharma's stellar achievements, the Selection Committee of PCI had failed to take into account his actual average score and had deprived him of an opportunity to participate in the Tokyo Paralympics. "Deepak was sent to participate in the Grand Prix Novi Sad WSPS, 2021 in Serbia without any notice to the public and with the sole objective of ensuring that Deepak's average comes out to be more than Sharma's, irrespective of the fact that the said event was not even a part of the list of International Sporting Events which can be used to calculate the average score of a shooter," the plea said. .In response to this, advocate Naresh Kumar on behalf of PCI contended that Sharma had voluntarily chosen not to participate in the Grand Prix event held at Serbia and that Deepak's selection was based on the fact that he had secured the highest score in the relevant category. The Court came to the conclusion that shooter Deepak's participation in the Grand Prix as per PCI's selection could not be faulted as they were acting upon the instructions of their parent body..Of ADD Olympic Glory Doping Shame and the Road to Redemption: Justin Gatlin’s Curious Case.Read full order here: