Who scaled Everest? State mountaineers battle it out

Time of India

6 days ago

Bhopal: A govt award in Madhya Pradesh has been stayed by the Madhya Pradesh high court for the first time, marking an unprecedented development in the state's sports history. The Vikram Award in adventure sports, introduced by the sports department in 2021 to recognise achievements in adventure sports, has become the centre of disputes among four players associated with the game.
The conflict surrounding the award has dominated news headlines in recent days. A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that the department annually presents awards to numerous players. "This is the first time that controversy has started since the announcement of giving Vikram Award in adventure sports, while the issue in it is only between four players," the official said.
In its inaugural year (2021), the department awarded Ratnesh Pandey and Bhagwan Singh with the Vikram Award.
They climbed Mt Everest in 2016.
However, no awards were selected for adventure sports in 2022. Rakesh Gupta, the director of the Sports Department, explained that the department did not receive any applications that year, resulting in no awards being conferred.
The dispute escalated in 2023 when four individuals applied for the Vikram Award in adventure sports: Madhusudan Patidar and Ashish Gupta, both of whom climbed Everest in 2017, and Megha Parmar and Bhavna Dehariya, who achieved the same feat in 2019.
When Madhusudan and Ashish were not granted the award, they filed a petition in court in 2025.
The department deemed Bhavna eligible and announced her as the recipient. In response, the remaining three claimants pursued legal action, asserting their entitlement to the award.
Madhusudan stated, "In 2022, the department did not give any award to anyone in adventure sports. That is why I applied for the award in 2023. Now I am being told that I do not meet the eligibility.
That is why I had to go to court."
He further contended that the department's five-year rule should not apply to him, arguing that adventure sports are extreme by nature. According to the rule, players have a maximum of five years from the date of their achievement to apply for the award. Since Madhusudan and Ashish Gupta climbed Everest in 2017, they should have applied by 2022. However, Madhusudan believes the rule does not pertain to extreme sports.
When questioned, the department stated that an advertisement for the awards was published in newspapers in 2022. "It is surprising that an advertisement was given in the leading newspapers and some people are claiming that they did not came to know about it," a department official said anonymously.
Regarding the five-year rule, the department affirmed that it was clearly mentioned in the gazette notification when adventure sports were included in the Vikram Award in 2021.
During the court proceedings, the judiciary ordered the sports department to submit its reply within four weeks. Meanwhile, the department informed Madhusudan through a letter that he was ineligible for the award.
Madhusudan denied receiving any such letter.
When the department decided to bestow the award upon Bhavna on Aug 5, Madhusudan filed a writ petition of contempt in court on Aug 4, leading the court to halt the awarding process and directed a departmental response by Aug 8.
This case highlights the complexities involved in award eligibility criteria and the legal recourse. The outcome will likely depend on the court's interpretation of the rules and the arguments presented by both sides.