SC stay on BCCI meeting overshadows race for interim president

Jagmohan Dalmiya's death has triggered a race within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the post of interim president, but the Supreme Court's stay on working committee meetings may throw a spanner in the works.

According to section 16/d of the board's constitution, secretary Anurag Thakur will have to announce the date for a Special General Meeting (SGM) within 15 days of the passing away of BCCI president Dalmiya, with a three week notice to the various state associations.

The interim president will then be chosen at the SGM.

But there are doubts whether Thakur can actually call for a SGM since the working committee can only meet once the Supreme Court gives its verdict on the petition filed regarding ousted BCCI chief N. Srinivasan.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the BCCI, which was scheduled for last month, was postponed indefinitely after some board members expressed reservations over Srinivasan's presence in the meeting.

The BCCI then filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking directions on whether Srinivasan can attend board meetings as a representative of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA).

Srinivasan is being investigated in several scams, including one involving betting on Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, where his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan has been jailed after being indicted for passing inside information to bookies.

Srinivasan was forced to step down as BCCI president in March last year by the Supreme Court in order to facilitate investigations into the IPL betting scam.