The Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted liberty to mountaineer Megha Parmar to submit a representation to the State government seeking reconsideration of her claim for inclusion in the Vikram Award List 2023.

Parmar, who is stated to be the first woman mountaineer from Madhya Pradesh to scale Mount Everest, had approached the Court seeking a direction to the authorities to confer upon her the prestigious Vikram Award. She also sought interim relief to include her name in the award list for 2023.

Hearing the matter, Justice Amit Seth observed:

“It is open for the petitioner to represent her claim before respondent No.1 raising all grounds, and it shall be open for respondent No.1 to consider the same in accordance with law.”

The Court directed the State to file its reply within two weeks. The matter is now listed for hearing thereafter.

Senior Advocate Vivek Tankha, along with Advocate Atul Kumar Jain, appearing for Parmar, relied on various clauses of the Puraskar Niyam, 2021, particularly Rule 9(2)(iii), which stipulates that the award is to be granted based on priority — i.e., who achieved the milestone earlier. It was submitted that Parmar had scaled Mount Everest earlier than the awardee selected in 2023.

Additional Advocate General Swapnil Ganguly, representing the State, submitted that a duly constituted selection committee had considered eligible candidates, including Parmar, and had selected Kumari Bhavna Dehariya for the Vikram Award 2023.

He further noted that neither Dehariya’s selection had been challenged nor had she been impleaded as a party in the case. The State counsel sought time to file a formal reply, which was granted by the Court.

During the hearing, Parmar’s counsel also sought the Court’s permission to file a detailed representation before the State for reconsideration of her claim. The Court allowed this request.

Case Title: Megha Parmar @ Megha Parmar Sharma (Post Marriage) v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Others
Writ Petition No.: 20216 of 2025