DDCA moves High Court seeking clearance to host Test

A beleaguered Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) moved Delhi High Court on Tuesday to seek provisional occupancy certificate (POC) to host the fourth Test between India and South Africa at Feroz Shah Kotla, after the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) rejected their application on Monday.

A division bench of Justice BD Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, however, posted the matter for Wednesday. With the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) deadline of Tuesday evening, for procuring all clearances, well past them, DDCA acting president Chetan Chauhan requested the Board for a day’s extension.

The BCCI agreed to wait till the court’s decision before making any final decision on the fate of December 3-7 Test. The Board has already kept Pune on a standby.

“..As the matter is part heard and pending for decision on Wednesday, 18th November, 2015, the BCCI will wait for the court’s decision before deciding on the future course of action,” BCCI said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur told Deccan Herald they had to relax their deadline following the involvement of the High Court. “They (DDCA) moved court and we have the utmost regard for our judiciary. We have given them the extension, hopefully by tomorrow evening we will have a clearer picture,” he said.

It had been a tough day for the DDCA with the three-member Delhi-government probe panel, led by principal secretary, Urban Development Department, Chetan Sanghi, also recommending strong action against the beleaguered body.

However, the panel made it clear that their recommendations had nothing to do with the hosting of the Test match. The panel’s recommendations included suspension of DDCA by the BCCI and replacing it with a body of professional cricketers until they find a lasting solution.

It is believed the panel also blamed the BCCI for trying to wash its hands off the DDCA mess and felt it could not ignore the fact that the DDCA was its member body. The panel also felt its report should be handed over to the Supreme Court-appointed Justice R M Lodha committee, which probed the IPL betting scandal and will give BCCI suggestions regarding administrative reforms.

The DDCA has sought the POC certificate from December 1 to 10. The DDCA was countered by former India cricketer Kirti Azad who urged the court that the cricket body should not be allowed to hold the match following financial irregularities. Advocate Gaurang Kanth, appearing for SDMC, also opposed the DDCA plea.

An angry Chauhan, later, said they were let down by the government. “I agree there are issues within the organisation but now we are taking some concrete measures to improve things,” he told reporters.

“We have not got the kind of support we were looking from the government. The timing of the setting up of the panel has to be questioned. I asked them about their terms of reference and they said we will tell you later. The whole (probe) thing has wasted our crucial time which we could have used in getting clearances. They side-tracked us, it is a conspiracy.”