image courtesy : google
In a double tribute to transparency and a decision that is bound to shake up the cricketing fraternity,sport administration and women cricketers, the Supreme Court on Monday appointed a four-member panel of administrators led by former Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai and includes the legendary women test cricket player, Diana Edulji.
Besides Mr Rai and Ms. Edulji, the Supreme Court appointed noted historian Ramchandra Guha and IDFC Ltd MD and CEO Vikram Limaye, who is expected to provide the committee with expertise in financial matters.
As the cricket association refused to fall in line in implementing the recommendation, the apex court replaced the BCCI board and appointed a panel of administrators to ensure compliance of its order. It turned down the plea of Centre, BCCI and other state associations which contended that the court first decide their petition for recall of July order.
Rejecting the arguments by BCCI and several state associations that the July 2016 judgement was difficult to be implemented, Justice Misra said, “The order has to be complied with. We have to take it forward.”
The bench turned down the plea of the Centre which contended that Secretary of Ministry of Sports be also nominated as an administrator, saying that its earlier verdict had barred ministers and bureaucrats from holding any post in BCCI and it could not appoint him in violation of apex court’s earlier order.
After a three-year long legal proceedings during which the apex court granted numerous opportunity to BCCI and state cricket associations to bring reforms in cricket administration, the Court finally entrusted the task to inject transparency and accountability in cricket management to the panel.
Making it clear that the court order on cricket reform must be complied with, the bench asked the committee to file a status report after four weeks on its implementation.
The court also appointed Amitabh Chaudhary, Anirudh Chaudhary (as suggested by BCCI) and Vikram Limaye to represent the Board in the ICC executive meeting to be held in February first week. The court, however, made it clear that accepting BCCI names did not mean that it had approved their continuance in the management of BCCI affairs and their task was only limited to represent the Board in ICC meeting.
