Mohammad Azharuddin was re-instated as President of the Hyderabad Cricket Association by Ombudsman Justice (retd) Deepak Verma, who also “temporarily disqualified” five members of the Apex Council, which had suspended the former India captain.
The drama surrounding the Hyderabad Cricket Association reached a high point as HCA Ombudsman temporarily disqualified 5 members of the Apex Council which had suspended state body president Mohammad Azharuddin.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said the affairs of the faction-ridden Hyderabad Cricket Association, led by former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin, require a CBI inquiry but observed that it would appoint a retired SC judge as administrator to conduct a thorough inquiry into its “sorry state of affairs”.
While listing the matter for further hearing on Wednesday(October 27), a Bench comprising CJI NV Ramana, Justice Surya Kant, and Justice Hima Kohli orally observed that it will appoint some retired judges of the Supreme Court to inquire into the issue.
Mohammad Azharuddin Bought In Justice Deepak Verma As HCA Ombudsman Without Consent Of Apex Council
The controversy arose over the alleged unilateral appointment of former SC judge Deepak Verma, who had created quite a stir while being the ombudsman of the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA), as the ombudsman of HCA in 2019 by then HCA president Mohammad Azharuddin apparently without consulting the Association’s nine-member apex council, the final decision-making authority.
In an interim order, the HCA Ombudsman temporarily disqualified five members of the HCA Apex Council –K John Manoj, Vice President, R Vijayanand, Naresh Sharma, Surender Agarwal, Anuradha. The Apex Council had “suspended” Mohammad Azharuddin for alleged violation of its constitution. Allegations of Conflict of Interest were leveled against Mohammad Azharuddin.
The matter was the first case heard through physical mode on Thursday, which was also the first day of physical hearing before the Supreme Court since March 2020. The Bench orally observed that former Supreme Court judge Justice Deepak Verma be asked to not pass any orders as the Ombudsman and ethics officer since his tenure has come to an end.
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar told a bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli that immediately after Mohammad Azharuddin appointed Deepak Verma as ombudsman of HCA, eight apex council members said no such appointment was made as the council has taken no such decision.
Deepak Verma Issued Show Cause Notice To The Apex Council Members Who Opposed His Appointment
Deepak Verma, however, took over as ombudsman. This factional fight led to litigation and the matter reached the Telangana High Court which upheld the appointment. Deepak Verma allegedly lost no time in issuing a show-cause notice to the apex council members who had opposed his appointment. They were later suspended
The CJI-led bench said, “It is a very serious case. It actually requires a CBI probe. We will banish both factions from the management of the HCA and appoint a retired judge as an administrator who can conduct an impartial inquiry into the alleged irregularities. We are very serious about it. Let both sides go out.”
Kumar said, “We know how the ombudsman (Verma) worked.”
For the other side, senior advocate Rakesh Khanna told the court that the retired SC judge to be appointed as administrator should look into the issues flagged by the ombudsman.
The CJI said, “Both sides are responsible for the sorry state of affairs of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. We will find out who can conduct the inquiry.”
It told the HCA to ask the ombudsman not to pass any orders on the matter till the Supreme Court found a retired judge to conduct an inquiry.
When both sides tried to heap blame at the other’s door, the bench said, “We are not that blind. We are aware of the affairs of HCA. We are thinking of a long-term solution.”
The SC posted the matter for passing orders on Wednesday.