SC to give verdict within three weeks on BCCI-Lodha panel dispute.Twitter[/caption]Internet Desk: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict in the case in which the court is overseeing the implementation of the Lodha committee report on administrative reforms within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
A bench comprising chief justice T.S. Thakur and Ibrahim Kalifulla also heard a plea filed by Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) seeking full-time membership of the BCCI.
The court has heard the case for 4 hours every Monday and Friday since February. The three-member committee was set up by the apex court on 22 January, 2014 after allegations of betting and spot-fixing surfaced in the Indian Premier League (IPL) surfaced. The three-member committee, comprising former chief justice of India R.M. Lodha and former Supreme Court judges Ashok Bhan and R. Raveendran, was set up by the apex court on 22 January last year to recommend the punishment for Gurunath Meiyappan, Raj Kundra and their respective IPL teams, the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. The two men were banned for life from any cricket-related activity in July after being found guilty of involvement in the 2013 scandal. Their IPL franchises were suspended for two years.
Lodha committee was also asked to suggest administrative changes to clean up BCCI. On 5 January, the committee suggested radical changes including the ‘one state, one vote’ policy, delinking IPL and BCCI and setting up players’ associations and age qualifications for office bearers.
‘One state, one vote’ formula which would mean only cricketing bodies representing a state would have full membership and voting rights in the BCCI. Non-territorial members of the board, such as the National Cricket Club, Cricket Club of India, Railway Sports Promotion Board, Services Sports Control Board and All India Universities, must be relegated to the status of associate members without voting rights, the report had said.
BCCI has consistently opposed the ‘one state, one vote’ policy stating would be violative of their fundamental right to form an association. “Some of our members are cricketing bodies formed by princely states. Voting rights of these members cannot be taken away,” senior advocate K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the BCCI had argued in court.
The court has repeatedly criticised the cricketing body for arbitrary allocation of funds to state cricketing boards among other issues.
According to an affidavit filed by BCCI, at least 11 states have not received any funds from BCCI in the last five years.
Besides, the committee recommended the creation of three new positions—an ombudsman, an ethics officer and an electoral officer. The ombudsman’s position has already been filled, with the BCCI appointing A.P. Shah to the key role during its annual general meeting in November last year. Shah, formerly the chief justice of Delhi high court, will look into complaints involving conflicts of interest.
Seperately, Bharatiya Janata Party member Subramanian Swamy has challenged the Lodha committee’s indictment of Meiyappan and CSK. The court has referred the matter to a three-judge bench and will be heard in July.
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