NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India’s top court has barred ministers and bureaucrats from holding posts in the country’s cricket board (BCCI) as part of administrative reforms in the world’s richest national cricket body.
The Supreme Court yesterday accepted most of the recommendations of the Lodha Committee, a three-member panel it had appointed to look into the functioning of the BCCI which is perceived as a cash-rich but opaque body run by politicians and businessmen.
In their report, submitted in January, former chief justice of India RM Lodha and two of his colleagues recommended age and tenure restrictions for top officials and cooling off period between successive terms for top officials among others.
“We allow most of the recommendations of the Justice Lodha panel on administrative changes in the BCCI,” a two-judge division bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of India Tirath Singh Thakur and Justice F.M.I. Kalifulla, said in their order.
“Nobody above the age of 70 will be office bearer of the BCCI. A person cannot be simultaneously an office-bearer in the state cricket association as well as in the BCCI.”
In other recommendations, all of which would have to implemented within six months by the BCCI, the panel wanted the board to be brought under the Right to Information Act which would allow citizens to access information held by the board.
Some of the main points of the Lodha Committee report submitted in January this year and approved by the Supreme Court are:-
*Only one vote per state; states that have more than one association will be allowed voting rights on a rotational basis
*BCCI to be brought under the RTI Act
*Government ministers, bureaucrats barred from holding posts on BCCI
*No simultaneous holding of state and BCCI posts by cricket officials
*Parliament to decide whether to legalise cricket betting
*Only persons under the age of 70 can hold posts on the BCCI
*All recommendations to be implemented within six months
