Lodha panel's recommendations 'unconstitutional': Justice Katju

Former chief justice Markandey Katju on Sunday called the recommendations made by Lodha panel as unconstitutional and stressed that the judiciary cannot stress reforms on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as it is the work of the legislature.

Addressing the media here after presenting the report to the BCCI, he said, "Judiciary should be within in its limit. Judges cannot make laws. But Justice T.S. Thakur has ignored everything. Because you are the Chief Justice of India, are you not bound to follow the law?"

"Lodha committee has issued 'farman and fatwas' like Mohammad Bin Tughlaq used to do," he added.

Justice Katju's report says, "The Supreme Court should have sent the Lodha Committee report to the Parliament for the Parliament to take action as it deems fit. The court cannot direct the implementation of the report."

"The judgment of the Supreme Court is per incurium and therefore, no binding the BCCI. When 3.3 crores cases are pending in the country, it is not know why the Supreme Court committed to judicial legislation in complete violation of all the laws of the land in the present BCCI matter," the report added.

Katju was on Tuesday appointed by the BCCI as the head of a four-member legal panel to help the board understand the implications of the Lodha Committee reforms.

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

Earlier in a landmark judgement on July 18, the Supreme Court accepted major recommendations of Justice R.M. Lodha-led panel on structural reforms in the BCCI.

The apex court has given six months time to the BCCI to implement the recommendations.