NEW DELHI, JULY 06,
The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order finalising the Constitution for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) while prima facie indicating that it may modify some of the key recommendations of the Justice R.M. Lodha Committee to reform cricket administration in the country.
For one, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, who heads the three-judge Bench, said prima facie the court does not accept the three-year cooling-off period recommended by the Lodha panel for BCCI administrators before they contest elections in the Board.
Justice D.Y. Chandrachud seemed to agree with the BCCI lawyer’s objections that there should not be any cooling-off period for those who want to contest the election for a different post in the Board hierarchy.
“We are not prima facie accepting the (recommendation) for cooling-off period,” Chief Justice Misra observed during the hearing.
Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) and States of Maharashtra and Haryana strongly objected to having a cooling-off period. The TNCA submitted that the interruption would only spoil the rhythm and experience gathered by an administrator while in office. TNCA said a person’s tenure should not be a “start-stop-start-stop” phenomenon.
Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for Maharashtra and Haryana, said that “if a person is fit and the people want to elect him back to office, how can the court stop them from doing so?”
Mr. Mehta also stressed on the “continuity of experience” in office for cricket administrators.
The Bench also heard arguments against the One State One Vote recommendation and agreed that there were several “age-old” which deserve to continue to have full membership in the BCCI.
“Every State has a vote, but there are age-old associations, services, clubs, etc, with long years of cricketing service to the nation which cannot be ignored,” Chief Justice Misra observed.
The hearing saw senior advocate Gopal Subramanium concede to the BCCI formula of continuing with five members in the seniors selector committee. Mr. Subramanium went to the extent of also agreeing that the railways deserve recognition in the BCCI as the Indian women cricket team players are mostly from the railways.
Mr. Mehta questioned the age cap of 70 prescribed by the Lodha panel for cricket administrators.
