Supreme Court approves new BCCI constitution, with a couple of key tweaks

The Supreme Court of India has approved new constitution of the BCCI that was drawn up by the CoA based on the Lodha Committee’s recommendations to restructure the board, but set aside some measures that would have radically altered cricket administration in the country.

Among the Lodha recommendations that have not been accepted in the board’s new constitution are the one-state-one-vote policy, and the cooling-off period for office bearers after one term. The cooling-off period will now be after two consecutive terms in office, and the removal of the one-state-one-vote policy means all the associations based in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat – Saurashtra, Vidarbha, Baroda, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Mumbai – will retain their full membership in the BCCI.

The principle of the Lodha committee’s cooling-off period recommendation still holds, but after two consecutive three-year terms instead of one – giving an official a six-year run in office. The court said the cooling-off period will be imposed after two consecutive terms in the BCCI or state, or a combination of both. Details about the age limit and tenure specifications for office bearers remain to be seen; the Lodha panel had recommended an age-cap of 70 and a tenure limit of nine years at the BCCI or state associations.

The Lodha Committee had also recommended that associations with no state entity such as the Railways Sports Promotion Board, Services Sports Council Board, Association of Indian Universities, National Cricket Club (Kolkata) and Cricket Club of India not have full membership in the BCCI. Of these bodies, the Supreme Court ruled that Services, Railways and the Association of Indian Universities remain Full Members and retain their vote.

The new constitution, which was approved by the apex court in its verdict on Thursday, is to be registered in four weeks with the Tamil Nadu Registrar of Societies, and the BCCI and state members are to comply to the new constitution within the next 30 days and intimate the Committee of Administrators running BCCI.

More to follow …

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