Supreme blow to BCCI’s ‘private’ stance

Sabi Hussain

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 22

The Supreme Court's decision on the 2013 IPL betting and spot-fixing case has not only come as a body blow to N Srinivasan and his cronies, but also made the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sweat.

The court has ruled that the BCCI is a public body and that its actions are open to judicial review. This provides fresh arsenal to the government to bring the BCCI under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The SC's pointed observation that the BCCI is amenable to article 226 of the Constitution has paved the way for the Sports Ministry to not only ask the cricket board to open up its accounts for public scrutiny, but also follow the age and tenure clause of the Sports Code.

Last year, the Delhi High Court had upheld the legal validity of the Sports Code, which was passed by the government in 2011 and primarily seeks to put restrictions on the age and tenure of office-bearers. The Sports Code also envisages free and fair elections, public scrutiny of accounts and transparent functioning of national sports federations (NSFs).

The BCCI's objection to the Sports Code was that it was a private body which does not take a single paisa from the government and hence cannot come under public scrutiny.

But the SC's observation on Thursday — that the BCCI discharges its duties as "public authority" by using the name India for the team which represents it — could well put the cricket board and its future administrators in a fix.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the near future, citing the judgment in the spot-fixing case, could force the SC to pass an order for the government to ask the BCCI and its 29 affiliates to explain their spending, like any other government department. "First of all, it's a landmark judgment by the court. It has created a window of opportunity for the government, which has been negligent towards the BCCI, to bring the Board under the Sports Code. The court has said that the BCCI is amenable to article 226, so it should be brought under the RTI act," eminent lawyer and a sports activist Rahul Mehra said.

It was Mehra who had first highlighted the issue of the BCCI's public functioning in 2004. In its judgement at that time, the court had clearly stated that the BCCI may be a private body, but it performs a public function.

"BCCI has conveniently forgotten that not only does it get tax benefits, it also gets stadiums at throwaway rates and, most importantly, is allowed to use the name India. It gets these concessions because it is deemed a charitable organisation which performs a public function," a former cricketer said.

Former India captain Bishen Singh Bedi demanded that the BCCI should be put under the RTI ambit in order to uphold the credibility of the game.

"I believe that this is the right time to bring the BCCI under the RTI ambit. The national as well as all the state units should fall under RTI. What's happening (problems) in Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Punjab is an outcome of the independent and unaccountable functioning of the cricket board," Bedi said.

Important verdict in constitutional law: Mudgal

Justice (retired) Mukul Mudgal on Thursday termed the decision by the Supreme Court in the Indian Premier League spot-fixing case as an 'important judgement in constitutional law', and predicted that the verdict will have far-reaching consequences.  “The Supreme Court has given a very important verdict which describes what the public functions of the BCCI are, and therefore, it is a very important judgement in the field of constitution law. It is going to govern all sports bodies as well. It is a judgement of great vision and far-reaching consequences,” said Justice Mudgal . “Now, they have redefined the scope of what the public functions are in a more definite way and I think this is a great advancement. It is going to make probating in public life more amenable to scrutiny and the amendment in the BCCI has been struck down by the court,” he added.

All hail the supreme court verdict

"It's a landmark judgment. I find I have been vindicated for fighting the conflict of interest case. This decision will bring in structural changes in the BCCI." AC Muthiah , former bcci president

It’s a landmark ruling and a watershed in the history of Indian cricket. The verdict will make the system more transparent, honest and free from fraud." IS Bindra, former bcci chief

"The judgment will help in the running of the board in a transparent and fair manner in future. But it is difficult to predict what Srinivasan will do." Ajay Shirke, former bcci treasurer

"The BCCI welcomes the order of the Honorable Supreme Court, which has put to rest the uncertainty, that has prevailed in the recent past." Sanjay Patel, bcci secretary

"Srini knew all along that Rule 6.2.4 is unsustainable & illegal. The verdict now ensures a new BCCI chief in six weeks. Time for clean-up. Cannot agree more on SC's verdict." Lalit Modi, former ipl chairman