Lodha Committee seeks SC nod to remove BCCI office bearers

The Lodha Committee has proposed to the Supreme Court that all the existing office bearers of the BCCI as well as the state associations that do not satisfy the approved criteria be "disqualified" with immediate effect.

According to the BCCI's own rules, the definition of "office bearers" includes the president, secretary, joint secretary, treasurer and five vice-presidents. Going by the eligibility norms, many of the board's incumbent office bearers, including president Anurag Thakur, are disqualified.

The committee had made similar recommendations in a court hearing last month. The Supreme Court reserved its order then, and reconvenes the hearing on December 5.

These recommendations, part of the committee's third status report, are clearer and less intrusive on two counts. This status report has proposed that GK Pillai, former home secretary with the federal government, be appointed the "observer" to oversee the daily management and administration of the BCCI. At the same time, the report has said that the "actual" administration be carried out by the board-appointed CEO, Rahul Johri in this case, as it is being done currently.

The Supreme Court-appointed committee, which was commissioned to suggest reforms for the BCCI in the wake of the IPL corruption scandal, has been frustrated by the continued non-compliance from the BCCI even after its recommendations were ratified by the highest court in India. A final decision on the matter is likely to be taken by the court, which it is understood, could hear the case before the scheduled December 5 date.

This status report was submitted in the court on November 18. The committee has told the court that despite clear timelines in place to implement the recommendations that were approved by the court in its July 18 judgement, neither the BCCI nor the state associations have obeyed the order, and have continued to be negligent. Since the July court order that mandated the Lodha Report, only four state associations - Vidarbha, Tripura, Rajasthan and Hyderabad - have agreed to comply with the recommendations.

In its status report, the committee specifically drew the court's attention to the recommendation on the necessary criteria for an office bearer. The committee had stated that an office bearer would be disqualified if he or she was not a citizen of India, was 70 years or older, was a minister or a government servant, held any office or post in any other sports association or had been an office bearer of the BCCI for a cumulative period of nine years.

The BCCI and many of the states have staunchly opposed the eligibility criteria set for an office bearer. Earlier this month, Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke said the same while submitting an affidavit with the committee. Both Thakur, who is also part of the Himachal Pradesh Olympic Association and the Himachal Pradesh Hockey Association, and Shirke told the committee that the board's members - the state associations - were not in favour of unequivocally implementing all the recommendations when the matter was put to vote at the board's special general meeting on October 1.

However, in the SGM minutes, which discussed the recommendation on election of an office bearer in detail, no reason for the rejection was listed. It only said the members felt that these recommendations would "in no way help to better the game of cricket".

The committee has now sought to take the matters out of the board's hands. "Several office bearers at both the BCCI and the state associations continue to hold the posts although they stand disqualified as per the order of this honourable court," the status report said. "It is submitted that those individuals who fall foul of these norms be declared to cease to hold office forthwith."

The committee also told the court that the observer's role should be limited to drawing up policy, and that the "actual" administration of BCCI was already being carried by Johri and his team of managers. Guiding Johri and his team, overseeing the governance of the board as well as keeping a check on the various contracts the BCCI got into, both at the domestic and international level, are jobs best taken care of by the observer, the status report said.

"While the day to day administration of the BCCI is presently carried out by the CEO and certain Managers who assist him in this regard, there would be a need to appoint an Observer who would guide the BCCI in its administration, particularly with reference to the award of contracts, transparency norms, audit, etc., for domestic, international and IPL cricket to be played hereafter," the status report said. "The Committee recommends that Mr.G.K.Pillai, former Union Home Secretary be appointed as the Observer, with a power to appoint Auditor and all necessary secretarial staff, assistance and remuneration as may be determined appropriate by the Committee."

During the SGM the BCCI members had voted against the duties of the CEO as decided by the committee. "The members discuss the CEO, his function and the Secretary's functions and decide that the Secretary's functions as provided in the present constitution of the Board should be continued," the SGM minutes had said. "The CEO is accepted, however his function to be modified accordingly. Also CEO should be made reportable to the Hon. Secretary."