The Madras High Court on Friday directed the chairman of the All India Sports Council of the Deaf to declare the name of athlete Sameeha Barvin as a selected candidate and permit her to participate in the Fourth World Deaf Athletics Championship, which is scheduled to be held at Lublin, Poland from August 23 to 28.
A single-judge bench of Justice R. Mahadevan was hearing a petition filed by the disabled woman player seeking to include her name in the final selection list of Fourth World Deaf Athletics Championship against gender discrimination under selection criteria.
The bench observed that though the petitioner has hearing loss of 90 percent and lost ability to speak at the age of 6; however she excels in sports events and ergo the bench directed her to report before the Chairman, All India Sports Council of the Deaf and on her appearance, the Chairman shall declare the petitioner as selected and permit her to participate in the Fourth World Deaf Athletics Championship which is scheduled to be conducted at Lublin, Poland from Aug 23rd to Aug 28th under the Women Category.
The case of Petitioner M. Sameeha Barvin is that she participated in the National selection test conducted at New Delhi. Among the 12 participants, she excelled herself in jumping a distance of 5.5 meters in the long jump, thus, she had surpassed the eligible parameter of 4.25 meters as a condition precedent for getting selected. However, to the dismay of the petitioner, she was not selected to participate in the World Deaf Athletics Championship. When she sought the reason for her non-selection, it was disclosed that the selection authorities are not inclined to send a lone female member to the event and therefore, they have preferred the male members for the event.
It was stated that all the five selectees are men and in the women category, the petitioner, who stands first, has been grossly ignored.
The bench also observed that, having regard to the extreme urgency expressed by the petitioner inasmuch as the names of the selectees will be finalised by the Chairman, All India Sports Council of the Deaf either today or tomorrow. The petitioner had surpassed the required parameters laid down for selection in jumping a distance of 5.5 meters even though, for selection, an athlete is required only to jump at least 4.25 meters. Even going by the past records of the petitioner, she had won 11 gold medals, 1 silver and 1 bronze in the various State and National events. This achievement of the petitioner cannot be simply brushed aside.
The bench further observed that out of the five selectees, none of the female athletes was selected. In the female category, it was the petitioner who stood first and therefore, in all fairness, the petitioner ought to have been selected so that she could bring laurels to the Country by participating in the 4th World Deaf Athletics Championship.
The court has list the matter on August 18 for passing further orders.
W.P.-No.-16953-of-2021