Law Panel May Recommend Bringing BCCI Under RTI
In July 2016, the Supreme Court had asked the commission to recommend whether the cricket board can be brought under the Right to Information Act.
Highlights
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The Law Commission could bring BCCI under RTI
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In July 2016, SC had asked the commission about the same
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The BCCI gets a lot of government grants, including tax exemptions
The Law Commission is weighing up possibilities to recommend bringing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) under the ambit of RTI to allow people to seek information about the functioning of the sports body. According to a 'working paper' of the panel circulated to its members, the BCCI gets a lot of government grants, including tax exemptions, and offered subsidised rates to buy lands for stadia. The BCCI got tax exemptions worth of Rs 2,100 crore in a ten-year period ending 2007.
"The report has not yet been finalised and no final view has been taken, but the working paper mentions all the details including court verdicts which suggest that the body should come under the ambit of the information law," a senior functionary of the panel said.
In July 2016, the Supreme Court had asked the commission to recommend whether the cricket board can be brought under the Right to Information Act. Before the members of the panel meet to take a final call on the issue, the commission will seek opinions of income tax experts to help members firm up their views. The working paper says that the BCCI can be termed as a 'public authority' under the existing legal framework.
Last year, the Central Information Commission too had urged the Committee of Administrators (CoA) running the BCCI to bring the body under the RTI Act. The RTI Act will have to be amended to bring the BCCI under its ambit.
(With PTI Inputs)