NEW DELHI: Observations made by Justice DY Chandrachud, hearing arguments Tuesday in which the Board of Control for Cricket in India urged the Supreme Court to permit its office-bearers to have two consecutive terms of three years each at the BCCI before entering the three-year “cooling-off” period, appear to indicate that the two-judge Bench he leads is set to accede.
The arguments were advanced on an application moved by the BCCI seeking approval of its amended constitution which would enable the board’s president and secretary to have a term of six years before entering the cooling-off period. It bears noting that two separate Supreme Court benches had endorsed recommendations made by the Justice RM Lodha Committee wherein a six-year term would include the time spent in leadership positions in the state associations.
Jay Shah, son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, is the BCCI secretary and former India captain Sourav Ganguly its president. If, as expected the apex court approves the new constitution, it would enable the duo to continue in their posts for at least another three years. Pertinently, Maninder Singh, the amicus curiae appointed by the Supreme Court to offer advice on the matter, also agreed with the BCCI’s contentions.
Importantly, Justice Chandrachud, heading the Bench, orally observed that imposing a cooling-off period of three years after only one term in office would be “too stringent”.
“A cooling-off period of three years after just one term of three years in office is really too stringent. People should be allowed to get acquainted… You will have networks, deal with international counterparts,” Justice Chandrachud remarked.
It bears noting that is is Justice Chandrachud who had dealt with the BCCI case earlier and even written a judgment in the case.
In its 2018 judgment, the court had seen endorsed Justice Lodha’s conclusions that “the game will be better off without cricketing oligopolies”. For this end, the court had supported the recommendation of the Justice Lodha panel that cricket administrators should undergo a “cooling-off period” before contesting elections to the BCCI or State associations.
The top court had earlier ruled that the cooling off period will not be scrapped between the tenures of office-bearers as “the purpose of the cooling off period is that there should be no vested interest.”
At the outset, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the BCCI, submitted that the apex court has said that when the bye-laws will go into functional preparedness, some changes could be made with the leave of the court.
He said that the BCCI is an autonomous body and all the changes have been considered by the AGM of the cricket body.
While the submission was being made, the bench said “BCCI is an autonomous body. We cannot micro-manage its functioning.”
Mehta said, “As the constitution exists today, there is a cooling off period. If I am an office bearer of the state cricket association for one term and BCCI for another consecutive term, then I have to go for a cooling off period.”
He added that both bodies are different and their rules are also different and two consecutive tenures of the office bearer are too short to develop leadership at the grassroots level.
The Solicitor General said, “Leadership develops at the grassroots level and it remains in the state association. By the time, his time comes for being elevated to the BCCI; he has to go for a mandatory three-year cooling-off period. One cannot become a member of the BCCI if he is not an active member of the state association.”
He said holding of the post in state association by a BCCI office-bearer should not be considered for the cooling-off period.
Mehta further submitted that the concern of the court is that no one should perennially be in charge in the cricket body and that concern has been taken care of by suggesting cooling off period, after two consecutive terms in BCCI, so that experience of “worthy administrators” does not go waste.
The Apex Court is expected to issue interim orders on Wednesday after hearing further arguments on the issue.
