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A plea has been filed in the Indian Supreme Court, seeking a ban on the upcoming clash between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025. A Pune-based activist Ketan Tirodkar has filed the plea, declaring the game as unconstitutional and against national interest. India and Pakistan are set to meet at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai on Sunday, September 14.
In his plea, Tirodkar has claimed that the match should not be played in the backdrop of the Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 people lost their lives. There has been massive outrage on social media against the India-Pakistan clash ever since it was announced by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) last month.
Both BCCI and the Indian government have faced massive backlash for allowing the Indian team to play Pakistan, months after Pakistan-linked terrorists killed 26 people in Jammu & Kashmir's Pahalgam. However, the match is likely to go ahead as per schedule, as there has been no change in the BCCI or the Indian government's stance despite the outrage.
In his plea, Tirodkar has claimed that the match between India and Pakistan violates Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which provides Indian citizens the right to life and personal liberty, including a positive right to live with human dignity. Tirodkar said the India-Pakistan match is 'prejudicial' to the interests of the nation.
"The said sporting event declared by BCCI is draconian and prejudicial to the interests of the nation, the armed forces and common citizens. Their rights are getting drastically eroded due to the adverse impact of the decision of BCCI to treat Pakistan sportingly as a friend worth playing cricket amid the series of killings of soldiers and citizens being carried out by Pakistani terrorists in the Kashmir Valley," the Pune activist said in his plea.
The plea also stated that the India-Pakistan match in the Asia Cup 2025 is "giving out an anti-national message to our forces and civilians that 'we do not care for you'".
Earlier, several politicians raised the issue regarding the India-Pakistan match in the Parliament, questioning the government's nod to the game at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that Operation Sindoor was still on. Some also wrote to the Sports Ministry, urging its intervention in the matter and a ban on the match.
However, their requests fell on deaf ears as neither BCCI nor the Indian government took any action. As it stands, the India-Pakistan match is set to go ahead as per schedule on Sunday. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai will hear the plea filed by Tirodkar on Friday (September 12), two days before the match.
The tickets for India-Pakistan matches are always in high demand, irrespective of the competition. Tickets for the blockbuster clash almost always sell out within minutes of going on sale. However, much to the surprise of many, the tickets are still available, days ahead of the much-anticipated clash.
Many Indian fans have claimed that they will be boycotting the match as they feel the Indian team playing Pakistan, just months after the Pahalgam terror attack, is 'disrespectful' towards the families of the victims of the attack and the Indian armed forces that were involved in a military standoff with Pakistan.
