BRING CRICKET BOARD UNDER RTI, SAYS LAW PANEL CHIEF

The Indian cricket board should be brought under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, said Law Commission chairman Justice BS Chauhan.

NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket board should be brought under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which makes seeking information on the functioning of public bodies a citizen’s right by law, said Law Commission chairman, Justice BS Chauhan, on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court, in July 2016, had asked the commission — which advises the government and the courts on legal matters — to examine whether the RTI Act that applies to government undertakings can also apply to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The commission is in the process of finalising its report on the subject.

“BCCI should be under the RTI Act,” Chauhan said on Wednesday. “They get a lot of government grants in terms of tax exemptions and land at concessional costs from the public exchequer. We have circulated a draft among our members and a meeting on the subject will take place later this month. A final review of the matter is pending.”

The commission’s draft, which has also been sent to the Union law secretary and the legislative affairs secretary, who are ex-officio members of the LCI, states that the BCCI got tax exemptions amounting to ₹2,100 crore between 1997 and 2007. “Owing to its monopolistic character, coupled with the public nature of the functions that it (BCCI) performs, and the substantial financing that it has received over the years from appropriate govts, in the form of tax exemptions, land grants et al, it can, within the existing legal framework itself, be termed as a ‘public authority’ and be brought within the purview of the RTI Act,” says draft.