BCCI gets SC relief on key Lodha panel suggestions

NEW DELHI: The big impasse in Indian cricket is over with the Supreme Court approving the new constitution of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) drawn up by the court-appointed Committee of Administrators and based on the court-appointed justice RM Lodha Committee’s recommendations, but setting aside two key changes that could have drastically reformed the way Indian cricket is run.

The court walked back the two changes it had signed off on in July 2016, the one-state-one-vote policy, and the so-called coolingoff period for office bearers between successive terms, both of which were opposed by BCCI.

The justice Lodha Committee’s recommendations regarding these were driven by a desire to prevent concentration of power in the western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, which had three votes each, and in a few individuals.

With Vidarbha, Mumbai, and Maharashtra (the three associations in Maharashtra) and Baroda, Saurashtra, and Gujarat ( the three in Gujarat) retaining their votes, West Zone will likely continue to exert disproportionate control of cricket in India.

The Railways Sports Promotion Board (Railways), Services Sports Council Board (Services), and Association of Indian Universities have also been granted full membership -- the justice Lodha Committee had recommended that these, and National Cricket Club (Kolkata), and Cricket Club of India (Mumbai), not be granted full membership of BCCI.

And officials can now continue for two terms in office, as against one earlier, before entering the three-year cooling-off period.

The 90-year old BCCI has been directed to adopt the new constitution in a month’s time and file a report in the top court. State associations, too, have been directed by the court to change their constitutions “on similar lines within a period of 30 days after BCCI changes its rules”.

The court also increased the strength of the national selection committee back to five — the justice Lodha Committee had suggested reducing it to three.

Justice Lodha expressed his unhappiness at some of the changes: “While I wouldn’t say we are back to square one, I am not very happy as the fundamental structure of the reforms has been changed and affected. This is a weakened structure as compared to the one we had suggested.”

TOP COURT DISCARDS ITS OWN ORDER OF ‘1 STATE, 1 VOTE’ POLICY; MANDATES COOLINGOFF PERIOD OF 3 YEARS FOR OFFICEBEARERS