The Delhi high court on Monday directed the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to decide within two weeks on the show-cause notice (SCN) issued to wrestler Vinesh Phogat, declaring her ineligible to participate in domestic competitions over alleged indiscipline and violations of anti-doping regulations.
The direction was passed by a bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma while disposing of Phogat’s petition challenging the May 9 SCN and WFI’s Asian Games selection criteria, which restricted eligibility to wrestlers who won medals in 2025 while disregarding earlier performance.
In its May 9 show-cause notice, the WFI alleged that Phogat had failed to complete the mandatory six-month notice period required for athletes returning from retirement under the anti-doping rules of United World Wrestling.
It also accused her of indiscipline, declared her ineligible to participate in domestic competitions, and described the incident leading to her disqualification at the 2024 Paris Olympics as a “national embarrassment” and “deplorable.”
This was after Phogat’s counsel, Rajshekhar Rao and Ashita Khanna, urged the court to direct the WFI to decide on the May 9 show-cause notice, since it raised larger questions of law. He further informed the court that following the Asian Games selection trials, the WFI had issued another show-cause notice to Phogat on June 17 regarding her conduct during the trials. He also said that despite her requests seeking permission to participate in three international events, the federation had not responded.
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WFI’s lawyer Hemant Phalpher submitted that the federation would decide on the show-cause notice within four weeks. He further argued that the other reliefs sought by Phogat in her petition concerning the Asian Games had become infructuous, as she had been permitted to participate in the selection trials but was unsuccessful.
However, Rao pressed for the SCN to be decided in two weeks.
“The respondent WFI is directed to take a call on the May 9 SCN in two weeks. The petition is disposed of,” the court said in the order.
Phogat had recently revealed that she was among the six women wrestlers who lodged sexual harassment complaints against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Alongside Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, she was one of the leading faces of the 36-day protest held at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in April and May 2023 against Singh.