New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to give an immediate hearing on the petition seeking cancellation of the cricket match between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup.
A lawyer mentioned the matter before a bench of Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Vijay Bishnoi. The lawyer urged the bench to list the matter for immediate hearing. The bench remarked, “What is the hurry in this? This is a match, let it happen. The match is on this Sunday, what can be done?”
The lawyer argued before the bench that the cricket match is to be held on Sunday and if the matter is not listed on Friday then the petition will become meaningless. However, the bench said, “The match is on this Sunday? What can we do in this? Let it be. The match should go on.”
The bench was hearing a petition seeking cancellation of the cricket match between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup T-20 tournament. The 2025 Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan is scheduled to be held on September 14 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The petitioners have stressed on taking steps to bring the BCCI under the control/jurisdiction of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The petition filed by four law students led by Urvashi Jain said that organizing a cricket match with Pakistan after the Pahalgam terrorist attack and Operation Sindoor is a message contrary to national dignity and public sentiment.
The petition said, “The purpose of cricket between countries is to show harmony and friendship. But after the Pahalgam terrorist attack and Operation Sindoor, when our people were martyred and our soldiers put everything at stake, playing with Pakistan sent the opposite message that while our soldiers sacrificed their lives, we are celebrating the game with the same country which is sheltering terrorists.”
The petition said that this may also hurt the sentiments of the families of the victims who lost their lives at the hands of Pakistani terrorists and the dignity of the nation and the safety of citizens come before entertainment.
The petition states that the cricket match in the upcoming Asia Cup is detrimental to the national interests, armed forces and the morale of the entire nation.
“Playing a cricket match between India and Pakistan shows that entertainment and revenue generation is far more important than the lives of our brave soldiers and civilians. This scheduled match is nothing but a mockery of the sentiments of all the citizens of India,” it said.
“The time has come to take steps to bring the BCCI under the control/jurisdiction of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports,” the petition said.
