Unhappy with the Committee of Administrators’ (COA) move to seek Supreme Court’s directions on some administrative issues, the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) adjourned the ‘special general meeting’ today.
The COA informed all state units that they will seek the Supreme Court’s directive on BCCI’s representative at ICC meetings and asked the members to note it before the Special General Meeting. According to COA, they categorically mentioned that no disqualified members can attend the SGM o perform any function in the any of the BCCI committees.
The BCCI members were in disagreement with the fact that COA wanted Supreme Court’s directions to conclude the eligible BCCI’s representative in who could be sent to the ICC meetings.
The SC hearing is on Monday and the Board has again called a meeting on Wednesday. The office bearers want to nominate Srinivasan as the BCCI representative for the crucial ICC Board meetings later this month in Dubai. However, COA was not interested in giving direct decision-making power to the members.
“The meeting was adjourned as SC is hearing the matter tomorrow. Since legal implications are involved, Amitabh Chaudhary, the joint Secretary announced adjournment,” former Saurashtra CA head Niranjan Shah told reporters.
The meeting was attended by most of the veteran 70 plus members. N. Srinivasan, Niranjan Shah, TC Matthew, Ranjib Biswal and G Ganga Raju — all above 70 years of age — attended the meeting in clear violation of norms. Their presence was the disobedience of the SC orders based on Lodha reforms that rendered the 70 plus members as ineligible to become office bearers.
The move was taken as a part of the revamp of the BCCI after the 2013 betting and spot-fixing scandal. The SC also banned membership in multiple sports body. Any BCCI member becoming a minister or becoming part of any other sports association will be forced to quit the BCCI post or other posts.
Other prominent names who were a part of the meeting were Arun Thakur from Himachal it was, who is former President Anurag Thakur’s younger brother. Railways and Services also had their representatives in the meeting. Acting president CK Khanna chaired the meeting and also signed the minutes of the meeting.
When a state unit member was asked whether anyone objected to Srinivasan attending the meeting, he told PTI: “No one had any objection. The only problem was the legitimacy of the meeting with SC hearing on Monday.”
“Some felt that one should have waited before calling the next meeting on Wednesday. But a majority in the meeting were of the opinion that let’s call it on Wednesday,” one member said after adjournment.
The 70-plus office-bearers are claiming that Frequently Asked Questions to the Lodha Committee, which formed the basis of their age-related disqualification, are not a verdict and hence they are still eligible to attend the meeting.