Justice Markandey Katju Says Supreme Court Can't Force Reforms on BCCI

Justice Markandey Katju has called the Lodha panel 'bogus' and has stressed that the Supreme Court cannot force reforms on the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The Lodha panel was created to restructure the Indian cricket board.

Justice Katju presented the report to the BCCI in a formal event in New Delhi and his report stressed that the Supreme Court order is legislative in nature.

The report added, "The matter ought to have been forwarded by the Supreme Court with the Lodha committee recommendations to Parliament with its own recommendation. So that Parliament could enact a law if required."

The report also pointed out that the order does not apply to State Associations as it infringes the rights in Article 19 © of the constitution.

In January 2015, the Supreme Court appointed the RM Lodha panel to look into the functioning of the BCCI and suggest structural changes to bring in more transparency.

On January 4, 2016, the Supreme Court released the recommendations made by the three-member Lodha panel. The proposals were mainly aimed at structural changes for better governance. Age and tenure caps, one-state-one-vote and accountability and distribution of BCCI's funds were mainly in focus.

"What the Supreme Court has done is unconstitutional and illegal. There has been violation of principles of the Constitution. Under our Constitution, we have legislature, executive and judiciary. There is broad separation of functions. It's the legislature's prerogative to make laws. If judiciary starts making laws, one is setting a dangerous precedent," Katju said at a media conference.

"I have advised them (BCCI) to file a review petition before a larger bench. In this case, the Supreme Court outsourced a committee (referring to Lodha Committee) to decide on BCCI's punishment," he said.

-With Inputs from Anurag Dwary, PTI-