Asia Cup 2025: Supreme Court refuses urgent hearing in PIL to cancel India-Pakistan match

Published - 11 Sept 2025, 18:57 IST | Updated - 11 Sept 2025, 19:18 IST

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday, September 11, declined the urgent listing of a plea seeking the cancellation of the match between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025, which is scheduled to be held on September 14 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

A bench comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi questioned the urgency of the petition. The petitioners’ counsel requested that the plea be heard on Friday, cautioning that it would become infructuous if not addressed before the game.

“What is the urgency? It's a match, let it be. Match is this Sunday, what can be done? Match is this Sunday? What can we do about that? Let it be. Match should go on,” the bench noted as quoted by Daily Mirror Online.

The plea was filed by Urvashi Jain and three other law students, who contended that holding a cricket match against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor would send a message contrary to national dignity and public sentiment.

PIL in SC seeks cancellation of India-Pak Asia Cup match

"Cricket between nations is meant to show harmony and friendship. But after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, when our people died and our soldiers risked everything, playing with Pakistan sent the opposite message that while our soldiers are sacrificing their lives, we are celebrating sports with the same country sheltering terrorists," the plea said.

It added that the match could hurt the sentiments of families of victims who lost their lives in the terrorist attack and stressed that the dignity and pride of the nation comes before entertainment. The petition also claimed that playing the match would be detrimental to national interests and the morale of the armed forces and the country.

The plea further noted that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) operates like a ‘nation within a nation’ and is insensitive to national problems, calamities, and public grief. It highlighted that the BCCI does not qualify as a National Sports Federation (NSF) under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025, pleading for it to brought in the purview of the National Sports Board (NSB).

The petitioners emphasised that ongoing operations against terror bases in Pakistan and continuous infiltration in Kashmir make holding the match inappropriate.

"Our armed forces have been carrying out day & night search operations fighting the infiltrators from Pakistan, our soldiers are sacrificing their lives and citizens too falling prey to the bullets of Pakistan-sponsored terrorists," it said.

Despite these concerns, the SC refused to entertain the request for an urgent hearing, allowing the India-Pakistan Asia Cup clash to go ahead as scheduled.