(1.) This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.
(2.) The present four petitions have been filed by Mr. Virender Singh, Mr. Pardeep Malik, Mr. Ajay Kumar & Mr. Sumit Dahiya who are all sport persons of renown. They all have been assessed with 100% disability in speaking and hearing vide the disability certificates which have been granted to them. By way of the present petitions, the Petitioners seek equal treatment of the deaf sports persons with other para-athletes along with other reliefs.
(3.) The petitions highlight that the Committee International of Silent Sports (CISS) Congress in Rome in the year 2001 had resulted in an agreement between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and CISS where a decision was taken at the international level to accord the same status to Deaflympic games as to the Olympic games and Para-Olympic games. In effect, therefore, the case of the Petitioners is that sports persons who participate in Deaflympics, being deaf, would be deserving of the same status as those who participate in Olympic games.