FIFA World Cup 2026: Delhi HC Seeks Prasar Bharati’s Response On Plea To Broadcast Tournament

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) and Prasar Bharati on a plea seeking the broadcast of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in India. The tournament will start on June 11 and will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The petition was filed by advocate Avdhesh Bairwa. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued notice on the plea and scheduled the hearing on May 20.

“Issue notice. Let him (respondent lawyer) take instructions. Let the matter be called out next week,” the judge said during the hearing.

Advocate Bairwa had urged the court to direct the Indian government to secure broadcasting rights for the FIFA World Cup 2026 for Prasar Bharati.

As interim relief, the plea sought telecast rights for the opening match, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. As part of the final relief, the petitioner requested the acquisition of rights for all 104 matches of the tournament.

During proceedings, the court questioned why the matter should not be treated as a public interest litigation (PIL).

Senior advocate Vaibhav Gaggar, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the citizens have a right to access the World Cup broadcast. He submitted that while the right may not be “indefensible or absolute”, a judicial “nudge” would “go a long way”.

Plea Cites Article 19

The plea argued that the FIFA World Cup – held once every four years – is one of the world’s most-watched sporting events, and every edition since 1998 has had an Indian commercial broadcaster. However, no broadcaster has secured Indian rights for the 2026 edition yet.

“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 (Centre's) Notification dated 09.05.2022, is scheduled on that date,” the petition stated.

“That without timely judicial intervention by this Hon’ble Court, the Petitioner and millions of Indian citizens will be irreparably deprived of their fundamental rights with no adequate alternative remedy.”

The plea claimed that missing out on the tournament violates the constitutional protections under Article 19(1)(a).

“The inaction of the Respondents has resulted into the violation of the Petitioner's freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution by restraining the exhibition/telecast of the FIFA World Cup 2026.”

“It is important to note that by denying access to the information in question or by not taking necessary steps to broadcast the FIFA World Cup, the Respondents have directly infringed the Petitioner's fundamental right to acquire and receive information, which is an integral part of freedom of speech and expression under the Constitution,” it added.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be played from June 11 to July 20, 2026.

(With PTI Inputs)