Supreme Court Rejects Vidarbha Hockey Association’s Plea for Recognition - Cites One State, One Unit Rule

The Supreme Court has refused to entertain Vidarbha Hockey Association's (VHA) plea seeking recognition as an associate member of Hockey India and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta cited the IOA’s “One State, One Unit” policy, which allows recognition of only one hockey body per state for Olympic sports.

VHA’s membership was revoked in 2020 after Hockey Maharashtra was granted recognition.

The Court questioned the urgency of filing the plea during vacation and noted that VHA had failed to submit relevant documents before the Bombay High Court. It allowed VHA to withdraw the petition.