Conflict Of Interest Matters To Be Handled By The Ombudsman Not CoA
Jun 5, 2017 at 1:47 PM
Committee of Administrators (COA) chief Vinod Rai has decided to keep the Supreme Court-appointed body away from the ongoing conflict of interest controversy which has erupted after the outgoing Ramchandra Guha blasted the system in an open-minded letter.
The neatly drafted letter had strong opinions and allegations; one of which was the conflict of interest issue targeting Sunil Gavaskar. He also hinted the same about Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, has raised a controversy.
It was expected that the COA would interfere in the issue. However, the body has declared that it can’t take any steps regarding this issue as its job of the ombudsman. The post of BCCI’s ombudsman, however, is lying vacant at the moment.
Under former president Shashank Manohar, BCCI had appointed Justice (retired) AP Shah in 2016 as the ombudsman. Shah was instantly flooded with complaints of conflict of interest related to everyone ranging from the administrators, members, coaches, selectors and even cricketers.
The confusion now lies in the fact whether who will appoint the ombudsman to act on the issue – The COA or the BCCI members?
It was revealed that the CoA is waiting for the Supreme Court’s directive on who should appoint the ombudsman.
“Lodha committee’s recommendations say that the ombudsman should be a retired judge who would take a call on all conflict of interest cases in the BCCI,” a BCCI official told TOI from London on Sunday.
One of the high-profile complaints received by Shah was against Ganguly. The former India skipper, who also is the IPL governing council member was accused to have played a role in the bidding process for two new IPL teams.
Ganguly also found himself on the radar for his dual role, as the TV expert and head of the Cricket Association of Bengal. In the past, many such prominent names have found themselves in such tricky position for holding dual position of authority.
All CoA members are in favour of implementing the reforms, but the issues that have got registered aren’t trivial. Therefore, the COA feels that it’s better to take no action until a clear mandate from the top court arrives.
“What can anyone do when such a complex matter like the captain-coach spat comes calling?” a top CoA source said.