The Supreme Court is set to hear the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) matter on Thursday as Justice SA Bobde and Abhay Manohar Sapre prepare to take up the matter in the presence of new Amicus Curiae PS Narasimha. The BCCI matter was last heard on January 17 with the court deferring the matter for February. The state associations are especially looking forward to the hearing as they expect clarity on the way forward as far as the new BCCI constitution registered by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) is concerned.

To start with, the constitution filed by the CoA is reportedly at variant with the constitution prescribed by the Lodha panel and while the earlier bench — comprising of former Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud — had asked the CoA to submit a draft strictly in accordance with the reforms suggested by the Lodha panel, the difference is a solid bone of contention and one that the state associations are looking at the current bench to take a look at and solve.

Another major issue that is set to be discussed is with regards to the appointment of an Ombudsman. While state associations had called for the need to hold a Special General Meeting to appoint the Ombudsman, the CoA wants the Supreme Court to appoint the Ombudsman directly.

Commenting on the matter, a board official said: “The whole idea of reform was to ensure democratic functioning. But if the CoA rather than allowing the general body to function keeps asking the court to take calls, how do you expect the SC to close the matter?”

Also, application of state associations are pending with regards to issue of fundamental rights as per article 19(1)(c) and they will need to be heard and settled once and for all so that there is no issue in this matter in the future.

Lastly, the matter relating to allegations of sexual harassment against CEO Rahul Johri may also be taken up by the court since it is a very serious matter. There is a school of thought that the committee constituted was unconstitutional and courts in the past have called for stay on findings of committees that are formed in violation of BCCI constitution.

Citing examples, a board functionary said: “..in such a scenario in the past, Mohammed Azharuddin’s punishment by the BCCI had been set aside by the High Court in Hyderabad. Similarly, the two-member committee formed to investigate the IPL fiasco also had its ruling set aside by Bombay HC.”

More interestingly, despite one of the complainant asking for a copy of the report of the independent committee, the person hasn’t received the same and therefore there is a section which believes that not doing so is direct obstruction of justice.

Commenting on the matter a board functionary said: “I find it surprising that the complainants have not been provided with the full report of the committee and this maybe because there is something that they wish to hide. The complainant is bound to be frustrated as the person is being denied her right to legal remedy..if there is nothing to hide, don’t understand why the report isn’t being given.”

This is the first effective hearing under the new Amicus and expecting a conclusion could be a bit harsh as all parties need to understand the situation and the new Amicus has the difficult task of drawing a balance.

It will also be interesting to see if the CoA gets a third member considering the recent conflict between chief Vinod Rai and Diana Edulji when it comes to decision-making.

“Rai would want someone who would listen to him since he does not react well to a contrary point of view. However, in the interest of equity and justice the way forward may be to take on board the suggestions of the counsels of the office bearers or the board members,” a senior board functionary said.

But a senior BCCI official said that the office-bearers are happy to have PS Narasimha as the new Amicus. “We are happy to have him and for the first time we feel reassured with someone like him. He will be a true friend of the court,” he signed off.

First Published: Feb 21, 2019 08:24 IST