BCCI faces an 'RTI bouncer'

The Law Commission of India wants the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) along with all of its constituent member cricketing associations to be brought under the purview of the Right To Information (RTI) Act 2005.

In its report to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Law Commission put forth four recommendations regarding the BCCI.

"It is recommended that RTI Act be made applicable to BCCI along with all of its constituent member cricketing associations, provided they fulfill the criteria applicable to BCCI, as discussed in this report," it stated.

Noting the opacity and non-accountability of the Board's functioning, the report stated that the BCCI exercised 'State-like' powers that adversely affected the sport. It, therefore, recommended that the "BCCI be viewed as an agency or instrumentality of State, under Article 12 of the Constitution, thereby making it amenable to the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 32."

"The BCCI should be held accountable, under all circumstances, for any violations of basic human rights of the stakeholders," read another recommendation.

Lastly, the Law Commission said that the "BCCI virtually acts as a National Sports Federation (NSF)" and that the Central Government has already been regarding BCCI as a National Sports Federation. In light of this, the report stated, "it is recommended that, for the removal of any doubt, the same be explicitly mentioned in the list of NSFs available on the ministry's website. This express mention would automatically bring BCCI within the purview of RTI Act."

If the board came under the ambit of the RTI Act, it would have to provide timely response to citizens' requests for information.