Supreme Court Upholds Quashing of FIR Against Olympic Judge Bilquis Mir

New Delhi, Jul 29: The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition filed by the Jammu and Kashmir administration challenging the quashing of an FIR against Bilquis Mir, India's first female kayaking and canoeing judge at the 2024 Paris Olympics, bringing an end to the legal challenge against the High Court's decision. A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M. Pancholi rejected the Special Leave Petition (SLP) on merits after hearing the matter. While the court condoned the delay in filing the appeal, it declined to interfere with the Jammu and Kashmir High Court's judgment. "Having heard learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, we are not inclined to entertain this petition. Hence, the special leave petition stands dismissed," the Bench said in its July 27 order. The Jammu and Kashmir administration had approached the apex court against the High Court's July 2025 order that quashed the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) FIR registered against Mir in a corruption case. It had also sought exemption from filing a certified copy of the High Court judgment. In its earlier ruling, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had strongly criticised the ACB's investigation, describing it as an apparent attempt to harass the internationally acclaimed sports official. Justice Sanjay Dhar, in a detailed 20-page judgment, observed that the investigating agency had even examined whether Mir's university examination answer sheets had been properly evaluated, an exercise the court termed wholly unwarranted. "This attitude of the ACB clearly smacks of wreaking vengeance upon the petitioner. The present case appears to be nothing but a witch-hunt launched against the petitioner by vested interests," the High Court had observed. Invoking Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which empowers High Courts to prevent abuse of legal process and secure the ends of justice, the court held that continuing the criminal proceedings would amount to an abuse of the law and accordingly quashed the FIR. Justice Dhar also referred to a February 16, 2024 communication from the Vice President of the Indian Olympic Association to the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary, highlighting Mir's selection as an Olympic judge as a matter of pride for both the country and the Union Territory. The High Court had remarked that Mir's achievement was a milestone for Indian women in sports and criticised the authorities for targeting a sportsperson of international stature instead of recognising her accomplishments. The judgment further lamented India's limited sporting culture, observing that the country had produced very few athletes and officials of Mir's calibre and that such treatment of accomplished sportspersons was detrimental to the growth of sports. With the Supreme Court refusing to interfere, the High Court's decision quashing the FIR against Bilquis Mir now stands affirmed.