SC restrains state cricket associations from holding elections

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 5

The Supreme Court on Thursday restrained state cricket associations from holding elections until it finalised the draft constitution of the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI).

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, which reserved its order on the draft BCCI constitution, also restrained high courts from entertaining petitions on appointment of administrators for state cricket bodies.

But the order does not affect the recently held elections for the Delhi and District Cricket Association which was swept by a panel led by senior TV journalist Rajat Sharma as it’s for future elections.

The constitution finalised by the top court would be binding on the BCCI. The Bench, which also included Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud, made it clear that any amendment to the Constitution could be done only with its prior approval.

Many senior advocates representing various state cricket associations, including Tushar Mehta representing Maharashtra, submitted that once the draft was finalized, cricket bodies should be allowed to follow the law under which they had been registered. They should be free to amend the Constitution in future as per law, Mehta said, adding  the Lodha panel that had recommended reforms in the BCCI was in favour of allowing amendment with three-fourths majority.

They said Amicus Curiae Gopal Subramanium was going much beyond the Lodha panel recommendations and the court’s verdict.

However, the Bench rejected the submission, saying they could not be allowed to change it without prior permission of the top court.

The Lodha panel was formed in January 2015 in the wake of the Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee report that had called for reforms in the BCCI – the world’s richest cricket body—in the wake of the 2013 IPL betting and spot-fixing controversy.

In its July 18, 2016, verdict, the top court accepted most of the recommendations of the Lodha panel to reform the BCCI that faced serious charges of mal-administration and many of its officials were accused of conflict of interest. It had approved Lodha panel’s recommendation for ‘one state, one vote’, ‘one member, one post’ and age-cap of 70 years on those occupying BCCI posts. 

On Thursday, the Bench refused to get into other issues, saying it will consider modifying the earlier verdict on ‘one state, one vote’ and interpretation of the cooling-off period for BCCI office-bearers later.

The top court said while passing its order on the draft BCCI constitution it would take into consideration the suggestions made by state cricket associations and BCCI office-bearers, submissions of the Amicus Curiae and advocates representing various parties.

On his part, Subramanium said he was ready to concede that instead of three there should be five national selectors and the Railways should be given full membership. For Gujarat and Maharashtra, which have three cricket associations each, he suggested that these associations could be given membership with rotating voting rights.