Ex-BCCI officials cry foul ahead of Apex court hearing

Former BCCI officials Niranjan Shah and N Srinivasan have hit out at Committee of Administrators’ head Vinod Rai in their reply to the Supreme Court that will be heard on Monday.

Speaking to HT, Shah said, “We are going to ask the Court why they are targeting us. There are other disqualified members attending the meeting but why have they mentioned mine and Srinivasan’s names only.”

Among the officials who could find themselves in the dock at Monday’s hearing are acting Board secretary Amitabh Choudhary, who had submitted an undertaking to the court at the time of taking over the BCCI post that he won’t deal with the affairs of the state body.

However, an RTI reply submitted by petitioner Aditya Verma suggests that Choudhary has ‘misled’ the Court.

Verma has submitted a statement from the State Bank of India that claims Choudhary is one of the three officials still managing the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) account with them despite the SC having an undertaking from him that he won’t be involved in the state body’s affairs.

Amitabh Choudhary was unavailable for comment as his phone was switched off. The Supreme Court had earlier this month sought response from the two after Rai had complained that they had been attending the Board meeting, especially the Special General Meeting, despite being disqualified. Rai had said that both Srinivasan and Shah have been obstructing the implementation of Lodha panel recommendations that places cap on tenures and age.

In his reply, Shah has also questioned the presence of other disqualified members, who Shah’s submission says are allowed due to their political links. Shah has also contended that an office-bearer, member and a representative are separate entities and as the best men for the job, they have been sent to the meetings as representative by state bodies.

Shah has also said that he has often attended as a special invitee where his contribution has been positive.

“I have been a servant for 40 years while Srinivasan has been there for 17 years. We have been sent due to our experience NIRANJAN SHAH, On being targeted