Supreme Court Denies Interim Relief in Dressage Team Selection Dispute
The Supreme Court of India has decided not to provide interim relief to two dressage riders who contested the Delhi High Court’s decision against intervening in the selection of India’s Dressage team for the 2026 Asian Games. Despite acknowledging procedural errors by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI), the High Court had previously declined to disrupt the selection process.
A bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe dismissed the request for interim relief but expressed willingness to investigate the broader issue of formalizing the selection procedure. The bench declared, “We are dismissing the matter as far as the interim prayer is concerned. We will issue notice in the pending matter.” However, the bench emphasized that individual cases will not be scrutinized further, stating, “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.”
Dressage, a discipline in equestrian sport, involves riders and horses executing specific, prearranged movements within an arena. Petitioners Anush Agarwalla and Sudipti Hajela challenged their exclusion from the final team, having been listed as reserves. Their challenge followed a July 6 decision from the Delhi High Court, which identified that the EFI had not adhered to its selection guidelines and had acted with “undue haste.” Nonetheless, the High Court refrained from ordering a new selection process, citing the July 15 deadline for final squad submission, which could potentially risk India’s participation. Instead, the Court mandated that the EFI comply strictly with its selection criteria in future proceedings.
The riders escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, where Senior Advocate Maninder Singh represented them. Singh argued that the athletes, being on the reserve list, should have been considered according to the established selection process. “The learned Division Bench (of the High Court) held in our favour,” he contended.
The Supreme Court, however, was hesitant to meddle in individual sports selection conflicts, saying, “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.”
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Supreme Court to hear a plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s refusal to interfere with the selection of India’s Dressage team for the 2026 Asian Games despite finding that the Equestrian Federation of India had violated parts of its own selection criteria. pic.twitter.com/pSCS0kEbpa — Bar & Bench – Live Threads (@lawbarandbench) July 13, 2026
