BCCI Given Ultimatum By Supreme Court to Implement Lodha Committee Reforms

A tough-talking Supreme Court on Thursday gave the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) an ultimatum to implement all the reforms suggested by the RM Lodha Committee. The BCCI has been asked by the top court to give an undertaking by Friday to shape up or ship out.

"Stop wasting time. Give an undertaking that you will abide by the recommendations or we will pass an order," Chief Justice of India TS Thakur said. The court breaks for the Puja vacation this weekend and reopens on October 17.

The Supreme Court will give an order on at 1pm on Friday and it could either be i) an extension of the deadline to implement all the Lodha reforms or ii) form a committee that will supersede the current BCCI bosses and execute the reforms.

The BCCI has been tightly cornered.

The Supreme Court has also said the BCCI not to disburse funds to its affiliated units not willing to implement the committee's reforms.

"Don't disburse money to associations who are reluctant to be reformed. Why are you discussing money in a hurry?" the court asked. The BCCI has transferred close to Rs.400 crore as infrastructural grants to its state units till September-end.

The court also hinted that the BCCI was instigating the state units to oppose the Lodha reforms.

"You are in the forefront of defiance giving leads to the state associations... you are trying to oppose the Lodha panel."

A defiant BCCI has been dragging its feet on deploying the Lodha panel recommendations which were made binding on the Board on July 18. The Board failed its first deadline of September 30 by which it had to implement the Memorandum of Association and Rules.

While it has cherry-picked a few reforms, the BCCI had been steadfastly opposing the Lodha committee's one-state-one-vote proposal, age and tenure caps, saying it was governed by the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975 and not a Supreme Court-appointed committee.

The BCCI is currently composed of 30 affiliates with multiple voting units from the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Lodha panel is against this policy.

The panel, headed by former Chief Justice of India Rajendra Mal Lodha, was not amused after the BCCI conducted its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on September 21 and elected committees in complete defiance of the committee's recommendations. The panel promptly filed a status report in the Supreme Court for non-compliance.

"If the BCCI thinks that they are a law unto themselves, then they are wrong. They have to comply with the directions of the court," the bench of judges headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur had said, adding: "Fall in line otherwise we will make you fall in line."

(With inputs from A Vaidyanathan)