Cricket administration should not be treated as an opportunity for personal aggrandisement by the BCCI and State office-bearers, the Supreme Court held on Thursday.
“Office-bearers should not construe their position as employees with a vested right to a particular tenure of service… opportunities to a wide body of talent encourage a dispersal of experience and democratisation of authority,” a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra observed.
Cricket administrators can now contest the successive election, complete consecutive three-year terms in office but would have to ‘cool-off’ before contesting election for a third term in office either in the BCCI or the State administration.
The judgement agreed with Justice R.M. Lodha that “dispersal of authority is a necessary safeguard to ensure against the perpetuation of power centres”.
“Individuals who administer the game of cricket must realise that the game is perched far above their personal interests. Important as experience in administration is, it is far-fetched to assume — and far more difficult for the court to accept — that experience rests on the shoulders of a closed group of a few individuals. In fact, opportunities to a wide body of talent encourage a dispersal of experience and democratisation of authority,” Justice Chandrachud observed.
The court said it was necessary to emphasise that the term of an office-bearer cannot be regarded either as an opportunity “to enrich himself”. “Enrichment in the form of personal aggrandisement is precisely what was frowned upon by the Lodha Committee, and for justifiable reasons,” the court said.