Supreme Court declines interim relief to riders challenging India's Dressage team selection for Asian Games

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to grant interim relief to two dressage riders who moved the Court challenging the Delhi High Court's refusal to interfere with India's Dressage team selection for the 2026 Asian Games despite finding procedural lapses by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI).

A Bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe dismissed the riders' prayer for interim relief but said it will examine the larger issue of institutionalising the selection process.

"We are dismissing the matter as far as the interim prayer is concerned. We will issue notice in the pending matter," the Bench said.

However, it will not examine the individual cases, the Bench made it clear.

"The individual cases chapter is closed. All of you are on the same page to assist the Court to see whether this existing thing needs to be institutionalised," the Court said.

Dressage is a horse-riding discipline in which riders and horses perform a series of precise, predetermined movements in an arena.

The petitioner-riders, Anush Agarwalla and Sudipti Hajela, challenged their exclusion from the final squad after being placed on the reserve list.

The challenge arose from July 6 judgment of the Delhi High Court, which declined to interfere with the selection of India's Dressage team despite finding that the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) had failed to comply with certain provisions of its own selection criteria and had acted with "undue haste" in preparing the selection list.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia declined to order a fresh selection exercise after noting that July 15 was the deadline for submitting the final squad for the Asian Games and that reopening the process could jeopardise India's participation.

It instead directed EFI to strictly comply with its selection criteria in future.

The riders then moved the Supreme Court.

Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the riders, argued that the two athletes had been placed on the waiting list and deserved consideration under the settled selection process.

"The learned Division Bench (of the High Court) held in our favour," he submitted.

However, the Supreme Court said it was reluctant to interfere in individual sports selection disputes.

"This Court would be very reluctant to keep interfering in sports. We can only do it in the context of institutionalisation, where Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra is assisting us. Individual persons coming at the last stage is getting worse," the Court observed.

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