BCCI vs Lodha: Top brass of the board survives as SC asks for undertaking on the dates for implementation of reforms 1

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials can heave a huge sigh of relief as the Supreme Court has decided to not remove the top brass of the cricket board as demanded by the Lodha Panel earlier this month.

Ever since the Panel was formed, the cricket board has expressed its reservation to implements its recommendations completely.The panel was formed by the Supreme Court last year after the Justice Mudgal committee recommended reforms in BCCI. The committee was given the responsibility of looking into the affairs of the cricket board after 2013 IPL spot-fixing and betting charges.

The Lodha Panel was unhappy with the board’s reluctance to implement the recommendation and the tension between the two parties has reached its zenith in the recent months. In fact, the panel was so furious with the board that it asked the Supreme Court of India to remove the top officials of the board including its president Anurag Thakur.

In a status report submitted to the apex court last month, Justice Lodha said:“While the Office Bearers of the BCCI gave assurances to the SC Committee on August 9, August 25 and September 20, 2016, that they would cooperate with the Committee towards fulfilling the directions of this Hon’ble Court (subject to any modification or review), the events over the past weeks have shown that this is not the case.”

“Directions of this Hon’ble Court have been ignored, actions have been taken to present a fait accompli to the Committee, the directives of the Committee have been breached, and member associations have not been duly intimated about the directions of the Committee and the timelines fixed by it.

“With as many as seven of the timelines to be complied with by September 30, 2016, it is now clear that the BCCI is in no position to ensure that the timelines mandated to be laid down by this Hon’ble Court are complied with. The conduct of the office bearers of the BCCI in not following the direction of the SC Committee has created serious impediments in the implementation of the directions of this Hon’ble Court,” he added.

And then asked for the removal of the top brass of the board.

“In view of all the above, the Committee seeks the following directions from this Hon’ble Court: Supersede the present Office Bearers of the BCCI with immediate effect; and appoint in their place a Panel of Administrators of the BCCI to ensure the smooth transition from the old to the new system recommended by the Committee,” Lodha said in the report.

The first hearing on the case, that happened on 7th of this month, was postponed to October 17 due to a ten-day recess for the Dussehra holidays and it was widely expected that the apex court will put an end to the saga by announcing its decision on the panel’s request to replace the current BCCI top brass.

But fortunately, for the board officials, the apex court has given them some more breathing space but at the same time,  Chief Justice of India TS Thakur requested for an undertaking on the dates by when the BCCI will implement the recommendations.

The Supreme court took the decision after the BCCI, through its lawyer Kapil Sibal, sought more time to implement the reforms.