Cricket officials get Supreme Court breather

CONTEMPT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST ANURAG THAKUR OKAYED

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday modified its earlier order to allow any official to be an office-bearer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or state association for nine years each.

The court in its January 3 order had said a person can cumulatively hold the office for nine years both in the BCCI and state associations, thereby taking total tenure in the country's cricket administration to a cumulative period of 18 years.

The court also decided to initiate contempt proceedings against Anurag Thakur. The court also said Thakur could be held liable for obstructing the implementation of its directives.

The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict on the interim panel to administer BCCI on January 24. However, the officials willing to serve state and BCCI will have to undergo a compulsory "cooling off" period of three years before taking up their next position.

The bench of Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud received a list of nine names in a sealed envelope given by lawyers Gopal Subramaniam and Anil Divanas for the appointment of a committee of administrators, who will run the BCCI.

The two lawyers have submitted the list to the Supreme Court for BCCI's interim administrative committee to oversee the implementation of the Lodha panel reforms. The apex court directed not to make the list public until its decision.

The apex court, however, questioned the list as some of the people named in the list are aged over 70. The Lodha panel recommended that no one above 70 can hold an administrative position in the BCCI or any of the state associations.

The bench indicated that it may opt for a slimmer committee of administrators as it fixed next hearing on January 24. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and the BCCI on Friday urged the Supreme Court to recall its July 18 order of downgrading full membership of Railways, Services and the Association of Universities to that of an associate member.

The BCCI and the Centre sought recall of the judgment contending that some of its founding member have been put into rotatory mode for being a voter of the apex cricketing body, effectively stripping them of their voting rights.

Rohatgi also argued that the implementation of the Lodha reforms should be referred to a larger bench as it requires a bigger debate. The court earlier this year sacked BCCI President Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke for not complying with its orders to implement the Lodha panel report. Since then, BCCI CEO Rahul Johri is handling the board's operations.