Master Dhruv through His Father v. Union of India through the Secretary & Ors.

Delhi HC6 Jan 2026W.P.(C)/18727/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Delhi HC W.P.(C) 18727/2025; Master Dhruv v. Union of India & Ors.; Archery Association of India (AAI); offline registration/membership; Aadhaar Card; mobile number/email id OTP authentication; mandamus; representation; sports competition participation; corrective measures; disposed without merits; two-month direction; hearing 02.03.2026 cancelled; Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, J.; order dated 06.01.2026.

What did the court decide?

Petition disposed of after being treated as a representation to the AAI, which was directed to deal with it in accordance with law and pass an appropriate order within two months; the next date of hearing (02.03.2026) was cancelled. ¶¶30

Master Dhruv through His Father Vs Union of India… — Writ and Judicial Review | Delhi HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner may forthwith submit, and have processed, an offline application for registration as a member of the Archery Association of India on the basis of his photo and identity documents other than the Aadhaar Card, without insistence on mobile number/email id-based OTP authentication.

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Court's answer

Without commenting on the merits, the Court deemed it appropriate to direct the AAI to treat the instant petition as a representation on behalf of the petitioner and to deal with the same in accordance with law.

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Ratio / Principle

An appropriate order was to be passed by the AAI within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a copy of the Court's order.

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Key takeaways

Passing observation that, since the issue concerns difficulties faced by a prospective participant in sports competition, the registration framework ought to be structured to enable seamless registration and participation.obiter¶¶24
The AAI was left at liberty to devise a proper mechanism, in consultation with any other authority, if it so desires.obiter¶¶26

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Delhi High Court (Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, J.), order dated 06.01.2026 in W.P.(C) 18727/2025: Master Dhruv, through his father, sought a mandamus directing the Archery Association of India (Respondent No. 2) to accept and process an offline application for his registration as a member on the basis of his photo and identity documents other than Aadhaar Card, without insisting on mobile number/email id-based OTP authentication, and to decide such application within two weeks. After noting corrective measures stated by counsel for the AAI, and observing that the framework ought to enable seamless registration and participation of prospective sports participants, the Court, without commenting on the merits, disposed of the petition by directing the AAI to treat it as a representation and deal with it in accordance with law, passing an appropriate order within two months of receipt of the Court's order; the AAI remained at liberty to devise a proper mechanism in consultation with any other authority. The hearing fixed for 02.03.2026 was cancelled.

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$~26

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

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- W.P.(C) 18727/2025

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MASTER DHRUV THROUGH HIS FATHER .....Petitioner

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Through: Mr. Tarveen Singh Nanda, Advocate, DHCLSC with Mr. Mukesh, father of Petitioner.

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versus

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UNION OF INDIA THROUGH THE SECRETARY & ORS.

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.....Respondents Through: Mr. Parth Goswami, Mr. Abhinav Singh for UoI, Advocates.

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CORAM:

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HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV

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O R D E R % 06.01.2026

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CM APPL. 398/2026 (Civil Miscellaneous Application Under Section 151 of CPC read with Article 226 of the Constitution of India, for early hearing/Pre-ponement of date of hearing of the Petition)

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For the reasons stated in the application, the same stands allowed. The instant petition is taken up for consideration.

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The application stands disposed of.

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W.P.(C) 18727/2025

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The petitioner, in the instant petition prays for the following reliefs:-

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“a. Issue an appropriate Writ in the nature of Mandamus or any other Writ/ Order/ Direction thereby directing the Respondents to forthwith permit the offline submission & processing of the Petitioner's Application for Registration as a member with the Archery Association of India (AAI), Respondent no. 2, on the basis of his photo and identity documents other than Aadhaar Card and without insisting upon the Mobile Number/ Email id-based OTP authentication for such registration;

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 12/01/2026 at 12:46:32

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b. Issue an appropriate Writ/ Order/ Direction to the Respondent No.2 to decide the offline Application of the Petitioner for membership within a period of two weeks from the date of submission;

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c. pass any other order or direction as this Hon 'ble Court may deem fit under the circumstances.”

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The instant petition is essentially against the respondent no.2- Archery Association of India (AAI) to forthwith allow the petitioner to submit offline application for his registration as a member with the AAI on the basis of his photo and identity documents etc.

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It is, thus, seen that the petitioner was facing certain difficulties in getting himself registered under the online portal. 4. During the course of submissions, learned counsel who appears on behalf of the AAI has pointed out that certain corrective measures have already been taken.

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Be that as it may, since the issue concerns the difficulties being faced by a prospective participant in sports competition, the framework ought to be structured in a manner that enables seamless registration and participation in such activities.

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Under these circumstances, without commenting anything on the merits of the case, the Court deems it appropriate to direct the AAI to treat the instant petition as a representation on behalf of the petitioner and to deal with the same in accordance with law.

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Needless to state, AAI shall be at liberty to device a proper mechanism with the consultation of any other authority, if is so desires.

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In any case, let an appropriate order be passed within a period of two months from the date of receipt of copy of the order passed today.

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 12/01/2026 at 12:46:32

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With the aforesaid observations, the instant petition stands disposed of.

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The next date of hearing, i.e., 02.03.2026 stands cancelled.

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PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV, J

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JANUARY 6, 2026 Nc/amg

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 12/01/2026 at 12:46:32

Master Dhruv through His Father v. Union of India through the Secretary & Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Master Dhruv through His Father v. Union of India through the Secretary & Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Why is it important?

What the court decided

Issues for consideration

Statutes considered

Procedural history

Parties & counsel

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