Supreme Court restrains state cricket bodies from holding elections

New Delhi, July 5: The Supreme Court on Thursday (July 5) restrained all state cricket bodies from holding elections till it pronounced a verdict on finalisation of the draft constitution of the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), as it reserved the judgement on the issue.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud also asked the high courts not to entertain any plea on the appointment of administrators for state cricket bodies.

The court said it will also consider modifying the earlier verdict on 'one state, one vote' and interpretation of the cooling-off period for BCCI office bearers. The top court had earlier asked the state cricket associations and BCCI office-bearers to give suggestions on the draft constitution for the apex cricket body to the amicus, saying these have to be in tune with the Lodha panel recommendations and its verdict.

The draft, to be finalised by the court, would be binding on the BCCI. However, the bench had clarified that its order on the petitions seeking recall of the 2016 verdict would deal with the validity of the draft constitution.

The Justice Lodha panel had recommended a slew of structural reforms in BCCI which were approved by the apex court. The court had approved these recommendations such as 'one state, one vote', 'one member, one post' and fixing an age-cap of 70 years on those occupying BCCI posts.

The Lodha panel was formed in January 2015 in the wake of the Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee report that called for reforms in the BCCI.

The Mudgal panel had gone into state of affairs of the BCCI, following the 2013 IPL betting and spot-fixing controversy.

The court had in its July 18, 2016 verdict accepted most of the recommendations of the Lodha committee to reform the BCCI following charges of large-scale maladministration in the cash-rich cricket body.