The Supreme Court on Monday handed over the management and supervision of the country’s richest sports body — the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) — to a team of four professionals led by former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai.
The panel, comprising historian Ramachandra Guha, Vikram limaye (MD and CEO of IDFC limited), and Diana Eduljee (former Captain of Indian Women Cricket team), has been tasked to implement the reforms as ordered by the court on July 18, 2016. The Bench gave four weeks to the Committee to monitor compliance of the court’s order by the BCCI and other State cricket bodies and submit a report to the court.
A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra, AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud constituted the Committee of Administrators on the suggestions given to them by amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium, senior advocate Anil Divan, the BCCI and some of the State cricket associations. Divan and Subramanium had initially proposed nine names as Administrators, but the list was pruned by the court to four, weeding out names of persons above 70 years. Rai, the Chairman of the Committee of Administrators, is aged 69, followed by Eduljee who is aged 61 years, followed by Guha, who is 59.
After passing of this order, the court and the counsels appearing for different parties also discussed the fate of lodha Committee. While the BCCI counsel senior advocate Kapil Sibal wanted to wind up the panel, the amicus curiae pointed out the court’s January 2, 2017 order which had cut out a role for the lodha Committee to frame policies for BCCI. That judgment had also required the lodha panel to set terms and conditions of the Administrators.
The Bench asked the CEO of BCCI to submit a proposal by March 27 on the terms and conditions, remuneration, etc., of the four administrators.
Some cricket associations associated suggested that similar to office bearers of their associations who held posts in honorary capacity, the Administrators too should provide their service pro bono. But the Bench dismissed the suggestion.
The court also dismissed a suggestion from the Centre to include Sports Secretary as one of the Administrators. The court said that the July 18 judgment expressly excludes Government servants from becoming administrators in cricket bodies. Sibal, who represented the BCCI objected to the name of Rai in the panel as he was Chairman of Banking Board.
Expressing his displeasure, Sibal said, “By one stroke, 300 office bearers have been disqualified. It was never contemplated by the court to change composition of state cricket bodies.”
The Bench allowed BCCI-member cricket bodies to point out the hindrances for implementing the court’s order to the administrators.
The Court order had debarred persons serving above 70 years and beyond a nine-year term from continuing as office-bearers in either the BCCI or any State cricket association. It directed a CAG nominee on every cricket board and limited voting right to one cricket body in each state, thus ending the dominance of Maharashtra and Gujarat, each having three associations as members in BCCI.