DRAGON BOAT INDIA AND TRADITIONAL SPORTS FEDERATION vs UNION OF INDIA & ANR.

Judgment text excerpt

$~126 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Date of Decision: 12.08.2025 + W.P.(C) 11189/2025 DRAGON BOAT INDIA AND TRADITIONAL SPORTS FEDERATION .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Ajeesh Kalathil Gopi and Ms. Priya Jha, Advs. versus UNION OF INDIA & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Udit Dedhiya, SPC, Ms. Apurva Sachdev, Mr. Dushyant Pratap Singh, GP, UOI. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SACHIN DATTA SACHIN DATTA, J. (ORAL) 1. The present petition has been filed by the petitioner ‘Dragon Boat India and Traditional Sports Federation’, claiming to be the sole internationally recognised national body for the sport of ‘Dragon Boat Racing’, in India. 2. The petitioner is aggrieved by the exclusion of the said sport from the upcoming Khelo India Water Sports Festival, scheduled to be held at Dal Lake, Srinagar, from 21th to 23th August 2025. 3. It has been brought out in the petition that: (i) By virtue of a decision taken by the Olympic Council Asia (OCA), Dragon Boat Racing was officially included in the sports programme of the 6th Asia Beach Games held in Sanya, China, from 28.11.2020 to 06.12.2020. Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:ABHISHEK THAKUR Signing Date:13.08.2025 22:32:55 W.P.(C) 11189/2025 Page 1 of 7 (ii) Dragon Boat Racing was also officially included in the sports program of the 19th Asian Games, held in Hangzhou from 10 to 25 September 2022. (iii) The International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) has certified that the Dragon Boat India and Traditional Sports Federation (the petitioner herein) is a member of the said international Federation. (iv) The Asian Dragon Boat Federation (ADBF) has recognised the petitioner as the national governing body for Dragon Boat Racing in India. 4. In light of the above background, the petitioner has made repeated attempt