BCCI to challenge perjury order in Dalmiya case

The BCCI has decided to challenge in India's Supreme Court a decision by the Calcutta High Court to order criminal proceedings against six top board officials. The court directive relates to charges of perjury - filing a false affidavit - in a case involving Jagmohan Dalmiya's expulsion from the Indian board.

"The BCCI officials were not given an opportunity to put across their case," Rajiv Shukla, the chairman of BCCI's finance committee, told PTI while explaining the board's response.

The six BCCI officials are Shashank Manohar, the president, Sharad Pawar, the current ICC vice-president and a former president, Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer, Niranjan Shah, the former secretary, N Srinivasan, the current secretary, and Chirayu Amin, vice-president.

Dalmiya, a former board president himself, filed a case of perjury against the officials in June 2007 for producing false documents in court relating to his expulsion in December 2006.

The BCCI had filed an affidavit - signed by the six officials - in the Calcutta High Court stating that the rule under which Dalmiya had been expelled from the BCCI had been registered as required with the Registrar of Societies in Chennai. Dalmiya then filed a case against the six officials alleging that the documents submitted in court were false and were produced with intent to mislead the court.

On Wednesday, Justice Nadira Patherya of the Calcutta High Court asked for criminal proceedings to be initiated, in an appropriate court, under Section 195 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The section deals with prosecution for contempt of lawful authority of public servants for offences against public justice and for offences relating to documents given in evidence.