JOIN USThe Administrator of DDCA on Wednesday opposed in the Delhi High Court one of its former director's plea against the rejection of his candidature in the elections to the cricketing body, saying polls in a private organisation cannot be challenged in a writ petition.
The lawyer for the high court-appointed administrator, former Supreme Court judge Vikramajit Sen, also contended that the former director was deriving benefits of his post even after expiry of his tenure. Hence, a cooling off period has to apply to him and he cannot be a candidate in the DDCA elections.
A vacation bench of Justices Vinod Goel and Rekha Palli observed that the petitioner had continued to attend meetings of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) and was at the helm of affairs of some of its committees after the expiry of his tenure as Director of Company Affairs in 2014.
The bench said the purpose of introducing a cooling off period in the amended Articles of Association (AoA) was to ensure that the same persons did not continue at the helm of affairs indefinitely.
The lawyer for the petitioner, Dinesh Saini, argued that he had attended the meetings only because the administrator had asked him to, as no Annual General Body Meeting had been held to elect new office bearers.
Advocate Pradeep Chhindra, appearing for the DDCA administrator, argued that the plea was not maintainable as elections in a private company, like the cricketing body, did not involve any element of public law and therefore, a writ petition cannot be filed.
After hearing the arguments of both sides, the court reserved its decision on Saini's interim plea that his candidature is allowed in the ongoing elections in which voting commenced today and will end on June 30.
The high court had yesterday dismissed a plea seeking a stay of the polls till finalisation of the constitution of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by the Supreme Court.
In the elections to select the cricketing body's executive committee, former India Test player and Delhi legend Madan Lal Sharma, noted journalist Rajat Sharma and senior advocate Vikas Singh are vying for the post of President.
Pushpendra Chauhan, the younger brother of former India Test opener Chetan Chauhan, is contesting for the post of joint secretary, while Rajan Manchanda, younger brother of former treasurer Ravinder Manchanda, is also a contender for the same post.
The DDCA administrator was appointed during the hearing of a 2010 petition of the cricketing body seeking occupancy certificate from South Delhi Municipal Corporation to hold matches at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.
The DDCA is yet to obtain a final structural stability certificate for its Feroz Shah Kotla stadium's old clubhouse, also known as R P Mehra block.