New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Friday granted time to the Paralympics Committee of India (PCI) and Naresh Kumar Sharma to bring on record the latest facts concerning the non-selection of the five-time Paralympian shooter for the upcoming Tokyo Games which are scheduled to begin from August 24.
“Put on record facts after the Supreme Court order – email of respondent no 1 (PCI) to World Shooting Para Sports (WSPS) and reply of WSPS”, said a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh as it opined that these developments “would go to the root of the case”.
Advocate Varun Singh, representing Sharma, urged the court to expeditiously decide the issue in view of an order passed by the apex court and said, “whether I or Deepak (the other player) can go can be deliberated upon in view of the favoritism (shown by PCI)”.
In response, advocate Mahavir Rawat, appearing for PCI, stated that the last date for sending names for the Indian contingent has passed and the concerned international body has already rejected Kumar's name as an additional candidate for the shooting event.
Rawat added that there could be no allegations of bias against PCI over the selection of another player as the process is based on scores and not discretion. “This is not like cricket selection. This is a mathematical selection. Whoever gets more marks goes,” Rawat explained. On August 2, the Supreme Court had directed PCI to immediately include Sharma as an additional participant for the sporting mega-event in Japan.