Lodha Panel to BCCI: One-State-One-Vote Policy; No Ministers as Office-Bearers

The RM Lodha has submitted its report to the Supreme Court on Monday and there is plenty at stake for the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The top court will now decide whether all the proposals will be binding on the cricket Board or not. Catch all the highlights here (NEWS | VIDEOS) (All Times in IST):

Sundar Raman has been given a clean chit by the Lodha panel.

© BCCI

13:21 Lodha panel gives former IPL COO Sundar Raman a clean chit. Raman had resigned recently. Justice Lodha says Sundar Raman not corrupt. Charges against him not substantiated. Justice Lodha feels Raman's failure to inform IPL Governing Council of betting by team owners was not motivated. (Full Report)

13:11 "We had to ensure autonomy of BCCI was not affected. Ailments needed cure, but needed to ensure good bacteria in the body wasn't lost," said Justice Lodha

13:01 Lodha panel wants BCCI to come under RTI Act. Currently, BCCI comes under Societies Act and is not answerable to the government. BCCI also does not take grants from sports ministry

12:59 Panel feels players and match officials do not indulge in betting, but they have to disclose their assets.

12:58 Panel suggests to legalise betting with inbuilt mechanism. Lodha panel had suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two years for betting offences

12:56 Panel suggests that chairman of senior selection committee should be the one with maximum Test caps. Panel also proposes a talent spotting committee.

12:55 Panel suggests cricketing matters to be decided by cricketers while non-cricket matters to be handled by the CEO and assisted by the team of six professional managers and two committees.

12:48 Not more than three terms for an office-bearer. Panel also suggests one person-one post formula

12:46 Lodha panel defines eligibility of BCCI office-bearers: Must not be a minister or government servant. And must not be above 70 years

12:40 Lodha panel says Ethics Officer will decided on the issue of conflict of interest

12:37 Panel suggests the inclusion of an ombudsman, ethics and electoral officer. The steering committee for players' association will be headed by  former Home Secretary G K Pillai.

12:31 Panel suggests registration of agents mandatory to protect interest of players. Many times players are kept in dark on many issues.

12:30 Panel recommends formation of players' association. Mohinder Amarnath, Diana Eduljee and Anil Kumble to be part of a steering committee to deal with BCCI,

12:28 Panel suggests limited autonomy for IPL governing council.

12:27 BCCI should be run by a CEO, who will be assisted by six professional managers, says Lodha panel.

12:25 Lodha panel suggests formation of apex council with nine members to run IPL. Of this, five should be elected office bearers like president, secretary.

12:21 Lodha panel suggests one supreme body with 30 state associations and seven associate members. One executive body purely for IPL affairs

12:14 One state, one association with a right to vote. Institutional units like Services, Universities to be relegated to associate members, says Lodha

12:12 BCCI is a national body. It represents length and breadth of the country and discharges public functions: RM Lodha

12:08 Current BCCI president Shashank Manohar has already started implementing a few proposals

12:06 Interacted with BCCI office-bearers. President and secretary responded to our questions. We also interviewed six Indian captains, including Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev, says RM Lodha.

12:05 Punishment and reforms were the main tasks for the Lodha committee, says ex-Chief Justice of India RM Lodha

Justice RM Lodha said the panel's report will be a role model to world cricket.

© AFP

10:47 The Lodha Panel has submitted its report to the Supreme Court. It will be made public at noon. The report is on the restructuring of the BCCI and the role of former IPL COO Sundar Raman.

The Justice Lodha panel is reportedly recommending that politicians should not be made part of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

© AFP

Indian cricket changed in May 2013 when the IPL spot-fixing scandal came into the limelight. The arrest of Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, players involved in the scandal, brought about the urgent need to clean up the image of the cricket.

Out of the controversy rose a panel which was constituted by the Supreme Court in January 2015 which heard several cases relating to IPL corruption and also on a Public Interest Litigation filed by the Bihar Cricket Board. The panel consisted of RM Lodha, former Chief Justice of India along with former Supreme Court justices Ashok Bhan and RV Raveendran.(Chennai, Rajasthan Suspended)

Apart from setting the quantum of punishment for those involved in the IPL spot-fixing scandal, the panel was asked by the Supreme Court to make suitable recommendations to the Board of Control for Cricket in India in reforming their governance model and to eliminate conflict of interest.

On Monday, the panel is likely to submit the recommendations to the court and the Supreme Court will decide whether certain aspects of the report would be binding on the BCCI. Ahead of the submission of the Lodha Panel report in the court, the BCCI will be keeping a close watch. There are reports of some radical change in the very foundation of the Indian Board.

End-Game for Political Heavyweights in BCCI?

According to a report on ESPNcricinfo, the Lodha panel is worried about the lack of transparency and accountability. In an interview to NDTV in December 2015, Mr Lodha said the BCCI needed to be revamped and inputs from cricketing greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid have helped the panel to prepare a model.(Lodha Panel to Banish Politicians From Indian Cricket Administration?)

According to some reports, the BCCI will be worried. The panel may recommend that politicians should not be part of the Board which is run as a society registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act. In the current set-up of the board, the executive functionaries are all honorary office-bearers with most of the top state cricket associations being run by either a politician, or a bureaucrat or a heavyweight industrialist.

If there are sweeping changes suggested which are legally binding, then there could be an administrative shake up just before the ICC World Twenty20.

Wholesome changes to eliminate Conflict of Interest

The Lodha committee may also suggest making IPL a separate private limited company under section-8 which has to reinvest all its profits.(Tendulkar, Dravid Inputs Help Lodha Panel Prepare Model to Revamp BCCI)

The committee's apparent desire is for cricket administration in the country to have a structure where conflict of interest is eliminated. With a reformed structure in the BCCI, there ought to be no room or apology for conflict of interest.

Democracy in Danger in BCCI?

The looming changes have reportedly not gone down well with some BCCI officials who feel that they have been selected through a democratic election process. One official stated, "Is there a guarantee that former players would do a better job than politicians turned sports administrators? If that is so why did Michel Platini get banned for eight years on charges of financial impropriety."

(With Inputs From Rica Roy)