The division bench of justices Dharmadhikari and Gautam Patel rejected the appeal filed by jockey Pradeep Chouhan against the May 3 verdict which had upheld the punishment meted out by the stewards of the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) for "not allowing the horse Lord Commander to run on merit" during the Mumbai races run on March 15, 2018.

The punishment was a year's suspension of his riding license, but later the board of appeal of the club, in a partial relief to Chouhan, split into two equal parts of six months, one to be undergone immediately and the other to be held in abeyance as long as the jockey rides to the rule book.