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In a verdict delivered on May 22, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia noted that Phogat could not meet the Wrestling Federation of India's (WFI) "exclusionary" selection policy only because she was on maternity leave and that motherhood cannot become a ground for exclusion or marginalisation of female athletes like Phogat.

"It cannot be denied that the journey of a female athlete through pregnancy and the post-partum period is one that is marked by extraordinary physical challenges, the magnitude of which is often insufficiently acknowledged within institutional sporting frameworks. We cannot remain oblivious to the physiological realities and disadvantages related to child birth that female athletes undergo during maternity," the Court said.

Notably, the Division Bench also slammed the WFI for issuing a "deplorable" show-cause notice to Phogat and termed the WFI's action as vindictive.