The Delhi High Court has issued notice to the Centre and Prasar Bharati on a petition seeking free broadcast of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in India through public platforms such as Doordarshan and DD Sports.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued the notice while hearing a petition filed by advocate Avdhesh Bairwa under Article 226 of the Constitution.
The petition stated that no broadcaster in India has acquired media rights for the FIFA World Cup 2026, scheduled to be held from June 11 to July 19 next year, raising concerns that millions of football fans could be unable to watch the tournament.
According to the plea, FIFA initially valued the India broadcasting rights package for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups at around USD 100 million. The value was later reportedly reduced to nearly USD 35 million due to a lack of interest from broadcasters, but no agreement has yet been finalised.
The petition argued that the FIFA World Cup has already been notified as a “sporting event of national importance” under the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007.
It claimed that once such a notification exists, the government and Prasar Bharati are obligated to ensure the tournament is accessible to the public.
The plea also referred to FIFA data showing India among the top global engagement markets during the 2022 World Cup and stated that Prasar Bharati has the infrastructure to telecast the matches through DD Sports, DD Free Dish, and the WAVES OTT platform.
The petitioner argued that failure to broadcast the event would violate citizens’ rights under Articles 14, 19(1)(a), and 21 of the Constitution, including access to information through public broadcasting platforms.
Senior Advocate Vaibhav Gaggar appeared for the petitioner along with a team of advocates, including Avdhesh Bairwa, Ankit Konwar, and others.