‘Shirking your responsibility’: Delhi HC to govt over students’ plea to defer sports events amid peak winter pollution
The court has now sought responses from both the DOE and SGFI on how the school sporting calendar for the upcoming year can be adjusted, taking into account the worsening air quality in Delhi.
Eleven school students, who actively participate in sports, have approached the HC, seeking directions to the Directorate of Education (DOE) — which schedules zonal, interzonal and state-level tournaments, coaching camps and selection trials — and the SGFI.
(Express photo)
“I’m sorry to say you are shirking your responsibility” — this was the oral remark of the Delhi High Court to the Delhi government on Wednesday, while hearing a petition filed by students seeking rescheduling of the outdoor sports and tournament calendar of schools to avoid the months of November to January, when the Capital experiences severe air pollution.
Justice Sachin Datta issued notice to the Delhi government and the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) — which sets the calendar for national tournaments— seeking their response to the contentions being raised in the petition. The HC also sought a status report from the Delhi government on the steps taken this year, as well as those planned for the next year, to address the issue of students taking part in sports tournaments amid bad air quality in Delhi-NCR
Eleven school students, who actively participate in sports, have approached the HC, seeking directions to the Directorate of Education (DOE) — which schedules zonal, interzonal and state-level tournaments, coaching camps and selection trials — and the SGFI.
The court has now sought responses from both the DOE and SGFI on how the school sporting calendar for the upcoming year can be adjusted, taking into account the worsening air quality in Delhi.
Highlighting that sports tournaments are predominantly held between October and January — a period marked by toxic air in Delhi — the students argued that such scheduling forces them and thousands of others to choose “between their fundamental right to life and education.”
The students maintained that the past decade has seen a “repeated cycle of toxic air pollution in Delhi in this period,” which is “increasingly becoming a major health issue for children participating in such events.” Further, they urged the court to direct rescheduling of the sports calendar from next year.
Senior advocate Shyel Trehan, appearing for the students, cited expert medical opinion from Dr Arvind Kumar, a practising pulmonologist, and referred to images of lungs of patients from polluted cities, including those of a 14-year-old boy. Trehan submitted, “Let them start in April, when the air is better.”
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Delhi government’s standing counsel Sameer Vashisht, however, told the court that it is for SGFI to plan its calendar, which it does taking pan-India into account. He added, “Summers are extremely hot…these are the best months in Delhi…if SGFI will schedule the dates (avoiding the months of high air pollution in Delhi), certainly Delhi will follow…They cannot be deprived of it (participation in sports).”
Justice Datta orally retorted, “They cannot be deprived of damage to lungs, is it? I’m sorry to say, you are shirking your responsibility. Do you recognise there’s a problem (in the air quality) in these months (from November to January)? You recognise that…You plan in a way from the future year, that there is minimal number or no fixtures during this period. For Delhi, you must start your games immediately after the boards.”
Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court
Professional Profile
Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.
Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).
Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.
She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.
With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram
Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:
High-Profile Case Coverage
She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.
Signature Style
Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.
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