Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has ruled that Vennam Jyoti Surekha, a celebrated international archer, was unfairly overlooked for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, despite securing more medals and higher points than those selected for the honour.
The court directed the Union Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs and the selection committee to reconsider Surekha for the prestigious award.
Court's Verdict on Selection Process
Justice Nimmagadda Venkateswarlu ruled that Surekha had the highest points (148.74) among all applicants, far exceeding the 58.5 points of Satwik Sairaj and Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty, who were selected for the award. However, no valid reason was given for her exclusion. The court noted that the selection committee acted against the National Sports Code and violated the guidelines by exercising its own discretion in picking winners from certain sports.
Orders to the Centre
The High Court directed the Centre to:
🔹 Consider Jyoti Surekha's name alongside the 2023 and 2024 Khel Ratna awardees.
🔹 Avoid calling for a fresh application from her.
🔹 Ensure that future selections follow clear guidelines without discretionary decisions.
The ruling was issued in response to a petition filed by Surekha in January last year. Senior advocates Unnam Muralidhar Rao and Unnam Akhil Chowdhury represented her case, highlighting her achievements and unfair exclusion.
Way Forward
The High Court did not cancel the 2023 selections but emphasized that Surekha's rightful claim should be considered. It also directed the Union Sports Ministry to establish clear guidelines to prevent such arbitrary exclusions in the future.
