SC bars ministers, bureaucrats from BCCI

With Supreme Court on Monday accepting major recommendations of the Lodha Committee on reforms in Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI), it has set the cat among the pigeons. One of the major recommendations accepted by the apex court is to a bar ministers and civil servants and those above 70 years of age from becoming its members.

This means that several heads could roll in the BCCI including veteran cricket administrators like former Union Minister Sharad Pawar and former board president N Srinivasan. Both are presidents of their respective state associations -- Mumbai CA and TNCA respectively. Focus could even be on cricket board’s president Anurag Thakur, who is a Member of Lok Sabha. In case Thakur ever gets a Ministerial position he would have to quit the cricket board.

The SC verdict, as per recommendations, will also mean that Thakur (Himachal Pradesh), Secretary Ajay Shirke (Maharashtra), Treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhary (Haryana) and Joint Secretary Amitabh Chaudhary (Jharkhand) will have to forego their positions in their respective state associations to avoid “Conflict of Interest”.

Saurashtra Cricket Association supremo Shah, who has served BCCI for over three decades in various capacities such as secretary, joint secretary, treasurer and vice President, is 72 years old.

Thakur refrained from commenting on the order saying the BCCI needed time to “study” the judgment. IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said that the BCCI “would sit down and take stock.” Board has six-months to implement the report. The apex court also accepted the recommendations of the Committee headed by retired Chief Justice of India Justice R M Lodha to have a CAG nominee in BCCI.

A bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice F M I Kalifulla rejected BCCI’s objection against recommendations for one-state-one-vote and said that states like Maharashtra and Gujarat having more than one cricket associations will have voting rights on rotational basis.

It accepted the panel’s recommendation that there should be a player’s association in the BCCI and the funding of players’ association accepted while leaving it to the Board to decide the extent of funding.

The bench also accepted the recommendation that one person should hold one post in cricket administration to avoid any conflict of interest and scrapping of all other administrative committees in the BCCI after the CAG nominee comes in. 

The court however, left it to Parliament to decide whether functioning of BCCI can be brought under RTI as recommended by the Lodha Panel or if betting in cricket could be legalised.

It also left it to the Board to decide whether there is need for any changes in the existing agreement relating to broadcasting rights and whether a franchise member should be in the Board to avoid any conflict of interest.

The bench also requested the three-member panel, also comprising former apex court judges Ashok Bhan and R V Raveendran to oversee the transition of administrative structure in BCCI which has to take place within six months.

The apex court-appointed Lodha Committee had on January 4 recommended sweeping reforms and an administrative shake-up at the troubled BCCI, suggesting that ministers be barred from occupying positions, a cap put on the age and tenure of the office-bearers and legalising betting.

Some of the state cricket associations, former players Kirti Azad, Bishen Singh Bedi and cricket administrators also approached the apex court with regard to the implementation of Lodha panel recommendations in BCCI.