Supersede BCCI officials immediately: Lodha panel tells SC
NEW DELHI: The Justice RM Lodha Committee, in its status report submitted to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, has recommended that all present office bearer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should be superseded.
The committee has also requested the apex court to appoint administrators under whom its recommendations could be implemented as per the July 18 verdict.
“Supersede the present Office Bearers of the BCCI with immediate effect; and appoint in their place a Panel of Administrators of the BCCI to ensure the smooth transition from the old to the new system recommended by the Committee,” reads the status report.
The committee requested the apex court to issue an order that “all decisions taken by the BCCI after 18.7.2016 which are contrary to the judgement dated 18.7.2016 of this Hon’ble Court and/or the directives of the SC Committee for implementing the same are non est and ineffective; and any other direction as may be deemed fit for the implementation of the judgement dated July 18.”
The committee informed the court that BCCI officials have disregarded its directives.
According to the report, the office bearers of the BCCI gave assurance to the Committee on August 9, 25 and September 20 that they would cooperate with it. “But the events over the past weeks have shown that this is not the case. Directions of this Hon’ble Court have been ignored.” The report further reads, “… actions have been taken to present a fait accompli to the Committee, the directives of the Committee have been breached, and member associations have not been duly intimated about the directions of the Committee and the timelines fixed by it.
“Apart from the above clear transgressions, the BCCI has repeatedly taken steps to undermine the Committee and this Hon’ble Court, with several statements and actions which are grossly out of order and would even constitute contempt.”
The Lodha Committee was very critical of the BCCI’s decision to bring former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju into the picture, who made several derogatory remarks about the members of the judiciary and the Committee.
The report also informed the court that the BCCI president, Anurag Thakur, did not respond to several e-mails sent by the committee. Instead, he had requested the International Cricket Council to issue a letter stating that this Committee amounts to governmental interference.
Over the course of the last few weeks, the report states, several very objectionable statements have been made by Thakur to the press which undermines the Supreme Court and the Committee.