Delhi HC directs Centre to treat deaf athletes at par with para-athletes, asks to extend benefits

New Delhi [India], January 19 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the Central Government to take a decision on giving benefits to deaf athletes at par with Para Athletes and other players, as they can't be discriminated.
The direction has been passed on the pleas of wrestlers who are completely deaf (100 per cent deaf). They sought direction from the Central Government and other authorities.
The four deaf wrestlers had moved pleas seeking benefits of the TOP Scheme. Incidentally, they have won several medals at national and international levels. They have also participated in and won medals in Deaflympics.
One of the petitioners Virender Singh was given the Arjuna awards in 2016 for his outstanding performance in Wrestling (Deaf).
Justice Prathiba M Singh while deciding the pleas, also clarified that the Central Government within two weeks may also consider if any sports person, who is going to play at the international level soon, requires any assistance in terms of the TOP scheme. The same may be considered within a period of two weeks.
TOP is a scheme under the National Sports Development Fund of the Department of Sports under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
Under the scheme, the department of Sports shall identify athletes who are potential medal winners as well as special pension funds for sports persons and consideration of Asia deaf games in cash awards which are being there given for para Sportspersons to be also given to deaf Sportspersons.
The four deaf Sportspersons including Virender Singh and others who have already won various medals at the international and national levels passed directions to the government of India.
They moved pleas through Advocate Ajay Verma and challenged the discrimination in cash award policy as well as various schemes for Sportspersons which were discriminatory between the deaf sportsperson and para Sportspersons.
They sought a direction for quashing the policy for rewarding the medalist of Deaf-Olympics events as far as it differentiates from the policy for rewarding medalists of the Para Olympics events.
They had also sought an order directing the respondents' Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Sports Authority of India to extend the benefit of the policy and all other schemes formulated by the respondents for rewarding the medalist of Para-Olymics sports event to the petitioner and medalists of the Deaf-Olympics Events.
They had also sought an order directing the respondents to include the petitioner and other sports persons who are medalists in International Deaf Olympics sports or other sports in the category of Deaf and/or Dumb in the Scheme of Sports Fund for Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons (Amended as on June 7, 2018) at par with the sports persons who are medalist in Para-Olympics category.
The petitioner Virender Singh had also sent representation to the respondents to consider the deaf sports persons at par with the para-sports persons for consideration of cash rewards and other financial schemes. (ANI)