It was a big win for Vinesh Phogat in her fight with the Wrestling Federation Of India as the Delhi High Court told the governing body to form better maternity return guidelines. The Delhi HC said the WFI should establish clear guidelines and timelines to balance the interests of the national team with the rights of athletes, particularly women returning to competition after maternity.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed that women often have to put their careers on hold after marriage and childbirth, while men are generally able to continue progressing professionally.
The court’s remarks came during the hearing of Vinesh Phogat’s plea seeking permission to compete in the women’s selection trials for the 2026 Senior World Championships after returning from maternity leave. The court said it would pass an order on her application.
Phogat’s counsel also alleged that neither WFI representatives nor officials were present at a show-cause notice meeting scheduled at the Constitution Club on Wednesday, despite Phogat’s side attending. The counsel said the federation subsequently claimed that Phogat had not participated in the meeting.
“This is a case of an institution deliberately targeting me. Prima facie I am able to show malice and bias on their part. WFI has displayed absolute arbitrariness in the case. She was informed of the selection criteria only on September 7 and the trials are scheduled on September 14,” he argued.
The WFI counsel clarified that Vinesh Phogat has not been barred from competing and said she would be eligible to enter the selection trials if she meets the requirements under the federation’s policy.
He added that medal winners from the 2025 and 2026 competitions would qualify under the system, and said Phogat would be welcome to compete, win medals and work her way back through the state and national championships after going several years without a medal.
The bench, however, questioned the policy itself, indicating that its provisions could be the source of the problem. The court also suggested that clear guidelines and timelines may be needed to govern the federation’s functioning.
“This is the problem. A woman, she will get married, she will give birth to a child and in that interim period, men will go and win medals and then they will qualify for something and woman will have to sit back at home and look after the children. There should be something that you have to do about this also, otherwise this is being very unfair.
“In this profession also, when one is practicing law, they go when they have children and when they come back, the clients do not come. This is something that we are trying to address because you have failed to. How unfair can this can be?…. Therefore, you have to make some guidelines which will balance the interest of the country also and person also,” Justice Sharma said.
Phogat has sought a stay on a September 7 WFI circular laying down eligibility criteria for the women’s selection trials for the 2026 Senior World Championships, scheduled for September 14 at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Stadium. The championship is set to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24 to November 1.
The application was filed in Phogat’s ongoing plea seeking a fair and structured framework for women wrestlers returning to competition after pregnancy and maternity leave. She argued that the latest WFI policy effectively shuts her out because eligibility is linked to participation and results in specified qualifying events, which she could not enter due to maternity.
Phogat, who became a mother in July 2025, said the framework does not provide any alternative pathway for athletes forced to miss qualifying competitions because of maternity-related absence. She argued that her exclusion is therefore not based on sporting merit.
The wrestler has sought transparent and objectively verifiable selection procedures, along with a mechanism to support athletes whose careers are interrupted by maternity. On September 1, the Delhi High Court sought responses from the WFI and the Centre on her broader plea.
Phogat has also challenged two show-cause notices issued by the WFI on May 9 and June 17, alleging that the disciplinary proceedings form part of a pattern of arbitrary action aimed at obstructing her return to competitive wrestling. WFI, meanwhile, has maintained that Phogat was given multiple opportunities to attend the hearings.
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