SC relief for BCCI office-bearers

A BCCI office-bearer who has completed nine years in office can go on to hold office in a state cricket association, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday.

The court had recently laid down a nine-year ceiling for cricket administrators.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Railways, Services and Association of Indian Universities, urged the court to recall its July 18 judgement, barring government employees from being members of the BCCI.

A newly constituted three-judge bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra allowed a plea for further modification of the January 3 order, giving a fresh lease of life to office-bearers of state associations and the BCCI.

With this, state association office-bearers who have completed nine years could also vie for a post at the BCCI.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the state associations, argued the Supreme Court order had been modified on January 3 by a bench headed by the then Chief Justice T S Thakur, after amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium said they hadn’t been served any notice.

He submitted the Lodha panel did not recommend that the office-bearers of state associations and BCCI cannot remain in office beyond the cumulative period of nine years.

The court had on January 3 said not only BCCI office-bearers but any member of a state association would also stand disqualified if he or she was at the helm of affairs for a cumulative period of nine years.

Subramanium submitted a list of nine member of a committee of administrators to take over the BCCI management, which was orally objected to by the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud for being loo large. However, the court directed for the names to be kept under wraps till January 24, the next date of hearing.
The names of administrators, selected by the Lodha panel, had the approval of Subramanium and another amicus curiae senior advocate Anil Divan.