New Delhi, May 12: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the response of the Centre and Prasar Bharati on a petition seeking the broadcast of the FIFA World Cup 2026, scheduled to begin on June 11.
The petition was filed by advocate Avdhesh Bairwa, who urged the court to direct the central government to acquire broadcasting rights for the opening match, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final for telecast through Prasar Bharati as an interim measure. As a final relief, the petitioner sought acquisition of rights for all 104 matches of the tournament.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued notice on the plea and listed the matter for further hearing on May 20.
“Issue notice. Let him take instructions. Let the matter be called out next week,” the judge observed during the hearing.
The court also questioned why the plea should not be treated as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
Senior counsel appearing for the petitioner argued that citizens have a right to access such telecasts, adding that although the right may not be absolute, judicial intervention would “go a long way” in ensuring public access.
In the petition, it was stated that the FIFA World Cup, held every four years, is among the most watched sporting events globally and has historically had a commercial broadcaster in India for every edition since 1998.
However, the plea pointed out that no broadcaster has acquired telecast rights for the 2026 edition in India so far, allegedly depriving citizens of their fundamental right to receive information and access the tournament.
“The matter is one of utmost urgency as the FIFA World Cup 2026 commences on 11.06.2026 and the Opening Match, which is itself an event of national importance under the Notification dated 09.05.2022, is scheduled on that date,” the petition stated.
It further contended that failure to ensure telecast of the tournament would amount to a violation of freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 of the Constitution, including the right to acquire and receive information.
“The inaction of the Respondents has resulted into the violation of the Petitioner’s freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 of the Constitution by restraining the exhibition/telecast of the FIFA World Cup 2026,” the plea added.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
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