The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to remove the observations made by the Delhi High Court against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) in a case related to wrestler Vinesh Phogat's participation in the Asian Games 2026 selection trials.

A Bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Aravind Kumar said that the WFI's plea had become meaningless because Phogat had already been allowed to take part in the trials following the Supreme Court's order on May 29.

At the same time, the Court clarified that closing the case should not be seen as its approval of the High Court's remarks against the Federation.

"In view of subsequent developments, this SLP is rendered infructuous. This Court will not be taken as reiterating the findings and observations of the High Court. The issues are kept open," the Bench said.

The dispute began after the Delhi High Court, on May 22, allowed Phogat to participate in the Asian Games selection trials.

While passing the order, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia observed that Phogat was unable to meet the WFI's selection criteria because she had taken maternity leave. The Court stressed that motherhood should not become a reason to exclude or disadvantage women athletes.

The High Court also criticised the WFI for issuing a show-cause notice to Phogat. It described the Federation's action as "deplorable" and "vindictive".

The notice had referred to Phogat's disqualification from the Paris Olympics for being overweight as a "national shame". The High Court strongly objected to this language and said it appeared to show bad faith on the part of the WFI.

The Federation then challenged the High Court's decision before the Supreme Court.

On May 29, the Supreme Court allowed Phogat to participate in the trials and kept the matter pending. However, she later failed to qualify in the selection trials.

When the matter came up for hearing on Thursday, Senior Advocate DN Goburdhun, appearing for the WFI, requested the Court to delete the High Court's remarks against the Federation.

He argued that the observations, especially those describing the WFI's conduct as malicious and deplorable, could affect future proceedings before the High Court.

However, the Supreme Court declined the request and closed the case while making it clear that it was not endorsing the High Court's findings.

According to reports, the WFI had initially barred Phogat from participating because only medal winners from certain competitions held in 2025 and 2026 were eligible for the trials. Since Phogat had not taken part in those events, she was not considered eligible.

Phogat had announced her retirement after the 2024 Paris Olympics but returned to wrestling in December 2025.

The WFI later issued a show-cause notice accusing her of indiscipline, violating anti-doping rules and failing to follow the required procedure for returning to competition after retirement.

The Federation claimed that Phogat had not completed the mandatory six-month notice period under international wrestling rules. It also referred to her Paris Olympics disqualification and alleged anti-doping "whereabouts failures".

Phogat denied all allegations. She said that both the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Testing Agency had cleared her to compete from January 2026. She also alleged that the Federation was trying to push her into retirement and that the action against her was unfair and politically motivated.