SC freezes BCCI’s transactions with state cricket bodies

New Delhi, October 21

The Supreme Court on Friday froze all financial transactions between the BCCI and state cricket associations by directing the apex cricket body not to disburse any funds, even for match purposes, to them till they resolved to abide by the Justice RM Lodha panel recommendations on reforms.

The apex court also directed BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke to give an undertaking on affidavit, before the Lodha panel and in the apex court by December 3, stating how much time they would need to implement reforms.

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A bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur and comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao asked the Lodha panel to appoint independent auditors to scrutinise all BCCI accounts.

The judgment, which was pronounced by Justice DY Chandrachud, also directed the Lodha panel to ask the auditors to scrutinise the high-value contracts given by the BCCI.

It directed the Lodha panel to fix a ceiling of high-value contracts of the BCCI to be scrutinised by the auditors.

The bench also asked the panel secretary to send a copy of the apex court order to ICC chairman Shashank Manohar. 

The apex court, on October 17, had reserved its order on implementation of the Lodha Committee recommendations for massive structural reforms in the cash-rich sports body.

The court had asked BCCI president Anurag Thakur and its General Manager (Cricket Operation) Ratnakar Shetty to explain the allegation that ICC CEO Dave Richardson was asked by the BCCI to issue a letter that the Lodha panel’s directions amounted to government interference.

Defending the two cricket administrators, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said, “The BCCI is being portrayed as a villain. It’s like all wrong things are happening due to the BCCI.”

The bench had noted that Thakur in his affidavit had made a reference that Manohar had expressed his views that the appointment of CAG nominee in the apex council would amount to governmental interference before that stand was rejected by the apex court in the July 18 verdict.

The apex court had perused the affidavits filed by Thakur and Shetty in which the 41-year-old BCCI president had outright denied having asked ICC CEO Dave Richardson to state that the appointment of three-member committee headed by former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha would “tantamount to government interference” in the BCCI’s functioning.

The bench had noted that Shetty in his affidavit had said that no letter was sought from the ICC CEO as was alleged.

The apex court had on October 7 directed Thakur to explain by filing a “personal affidavit”, the allegation “whether he had asked the CEO of the ICC to state that the appointment of Justice Lodha Committee was tantamount to government interference in the working of the BCCI”.

It had ordered that no further amounts should be disbursed to state associations by the BCCI, except where the State Association concerned passed a resolution saying it is agreeable to undertake and support the reforms as proposed and accepted by this court in letter and spirit.

The apex court had said that the 13 state associations, to whom the payment had already been disbursed, should not appropriate the amount, except after they had passed a resolution to abide by the reforms suggested. PTI