BCCI disputes validity of Zee writ petition

A lengthy debate on whether the Board of Control for Cricket in India was an authority of the state dominated proceedings on the opening day of the Supreme Court hearing which sought to find a solution to the telecast-rights impasse that has overshadowed the build-up to the Test series against Australia.

KK Venugopal, the BCCI counsel, pleaded that the writ petition filed by Zee Telefilms was invalid since the board was not an authority of the state - as defined in Article 12 of the Indian constitution. As per definition, "the State" implies not just the government, but also "all local or other authorities", and according to a report in The Indian Express, Harish Salve, Zee's counsel, argued that the BCCI should be considered as an "other authority".

He asserted that the BCCI was the sole representative of India as a nation at all levels of the game, with the team it selects playing under the national flag. The BCCI, however, contended that since it had no links with the government, and received no financial assistance from it, it could not be subjected to a writ petition.

According to Venugopal, all that the government did was recognise the BCCI as the game's apex body in India. The hearing, presided over by Justice Santosh Hegde, will resume on Wednesday.