SC questions BCCI fund allocation

While terming it a 'mutually benefical socity', the apex court said that no funds have been granted to eleven states in last five years

The Supreme Court on Tuesday slammed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for its opposition to the Lodha committee’s recommendations like “one state, one vote”.

Hearing the BCCI’s plea against imposition of several of the committee’s recommendations, the apex court questioned the Board’s allocation of funds to state bodies in the past five years.

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Criticising the BCCI’s fund allocation process, the court observed that funds had been distributed without a rationale like a “mutually beneficial society”.

The Board submitted a list of funds to the court that it had disbursed to state bodies over the last five years. The list shows that the BCCI had not provided any funds to 11 state cricket associations, including Bihar, during the period.

“The BCCI must have distributive justice, why are 11 states penniless? Why should these states go begging?” the Bench asked lawyers representing the BCCI.

The BCCI has 30 cricket body members, four associate members and three affiliate members. “The impression one gets is that once the BCCI gives money to state boards without any rationale, it in a way corrupts them,” the court observed. The BCCI is contesting the Lodha panel’s recommendations such as one state, one unit, one vote, which means a state can have only one cricketing body and one voting right. It is also opposed to suggestions like no commercial breaks during live cricket matches.

UNDER THE SCANNER

• The BCCI is contesting the Lodha panel’s recommendations such as one state, one unit, one vote, which means a state can have only one cricketing body and one voting right
• The apex court questioned the board’s allocation of funds to state bodies in the past five years
• The court observed that funds had been distributed without a rationale like a “mutually beneficial society”
• The board submitted a list of funds to the court that it had disbursed to state bodies over the last five years
• The BCCI has 30 cricket body members, four associate members and three affiliate members

“Please don't say the Lodha committee’s recommendations cannot be implemented,” the Bench told the BCCI’s lawyers.

The Lodha committee was formed by the Supreme Court in January 2015 in the aftermath of a betting and match fixing scandal in the Indian Premiere League (IPL) in 2013. The three-member panel included Justice Ashok Bhan and RV Raveendran and was headed by former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha.

Apart from suspending two IPL teams, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, from the league for two years, the panel made several recommendations. On January 4, 2016 the panel suggested legalising cricket betting. It also recommended structural changes in the BCCI’s functioning to make it transparent.

After consulting internally in a special general meeting on February 19, the BCCI approached the Supreme Court.