The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the hearing regarding the Justice (Retd.) R.M Lodha-led committee's recommendations and the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) constant reluctance to accept all recommendations till December 14.
The Supreme Court has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India to follow the recommendations of the Justice R M Lodha Committee and "save trouble".
The Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) has adopted a resolution to consider and approve its proposed new constitution as per the recommendations of the Lodha Committee.
In the wake of the Lodha Committee recommendations, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is staring at a leadership crisis as 95 per cent of the top brass will be wiped out if the report is implemented with retrospective effect.
The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association on Monday held its Annual General Meeting as per schedule but did not conduct its election as per instructions from the Supreme Court appointed Justice Rajendra-Mal Lodha panel.
Implementation of Lodha Committee recommendations in the Board of Control for Cricket in India will be complete in the next four-five months, said Vinod Rai, head of the Supreme Court-appointed panel of administrators to manage the cricket board's affairs.
The GCA at its Special General Body meeting held in Porvorim on Sunday adopted the resolution with 86 votes in its favour while one member cricket club voted against it.
Former Goa Cricket Association (GCA) president Shekhar Salkar said more clarification is needed on some of the Lodha Committee recommendations calling for massive overhaul of the functioning of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and administration of the popular sport.
IMAGE: BCCI president Anurag Thakur, right, with ICC CEO Shashank Manohar. Photograph: PTI Board of Control for Cricket in India president Anurag Thakur on Monday said in Supreme Court that he had not asked International Cricket Council's CEO Dave Richardson to state that the appointment of Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha committee would "tantamount to government interference" in the functioning of BCCI.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in its response in the Supreme Court, has refuted allegations of non-compliance with Justice RM Lodha-led panel's recommendations, saying that "records of 40 mails" exchanged with Justice Lodha will be submitted before the apex court.
The Attorney General of India Mukul Rohatgi, on Friday, asked the Supreme to recall its order on the BCCI in the case regarding the Lodha recommendations to be followed by the Indian cricket board.
If the Supreme Court makes Justice RM Lodha committee's recommendations on BCCI reforms final and binding, the parent cricket body might have to alter the date of the ninth edition of Indian Premier League, scheduled to start on April 9, this year.
The far-reaching effect on the implementation of the Justice Lodha Committee's recommendations and the subsequent scathing observation on the matter by the Supreme Court has left the BCCI members thoroughly shaken.
Mumbai Cricket Association, headed by former BCCI President Sharad Pawar, would file an intervention application before the Supreme Court to highlight the difficulties in implementing Justice R M (retired) Lodha Committee's recommendations to restructure the Board. This was decided at a meeting of the MCA's Managing Committee, said a media release today from the association's joint secretaries, P V Shetty and Unmesh Khanvilkar. "In a meeting of the Managing Committee of the Mumbai Cricket Association to discuss the far ranging consequences of the Lodha Committee's recommendations, it was unanimously decided that the Mumbai Cricket Association would file an intervention application before the Supreme Court and highlight the difficulties and inconsistencies in the report," the media release said. "Accordingly, the members unanimously authorised Joint Honorary Secretaries and Vice President Ashish Shelar to seek appropriate legal advice and file necessary applications before the Court," the release added.
Former India captains Bishan Singh Bedi and Anil Kumble along with yesteryear's great Mohinder Amarnath had deposed before the Justice Lodha Committee as they prepare an exhaustive report on the restructuring and reforms that need to be carried by the BCCI.
While four weeks time was granted to the BCCI to respond to the implementation of the recommendations, the court had made it clear that there should not be any difficulty in accepting the recommendations.
BCCI CEO Rahul Johri will need to get assurances from all the state associations that there will be no disruption in organisation of cricket matches under aegis of the board, the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee said on Wednesday.
The incumbent BCCI president Roger Binny turned 70 on Saturday but there is no immediate clarity on whether he would be continuing till the AGM in September or demit office with immediate effect with vice-president Rajeev Shukla taking charge as the interim head.
In a move expected to further delay the implementation of Lodha panel reforms, the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Monday decided to form a committee for analysing how 'best and quickly' the principal Supreme Court order can be executed.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's committee on Lodha reforms on Saturday included demarcation of functions performed by honorary office-bearers and paid professionals to the list of reservations it has about the implementation of the Supreme Court order.
Shelar is the second official from the incumbent committee to move on from his post after Jay Shah, who moved on from his post as the BCCI secretary to the chairman of the International Cricket Council.
The BMC's decision to ban public feeding of pigeons in view of health hazards associated with the practice and close kabutarkhanas has led to a controversy. People who feed pigeons have challenged the civic body's decision in the Bombay high court.
Fuming at the defiance of its recommendations, the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha panel directed banks, where the Board of Control for Cricket in India holds accounts, not to disburse any funds for the financial decisions taken by the Board at its Special General Meeting in Mumbai on September 30.
Trying to rebuild its tattered image after a spate of controversies, the BCCI is waiting anxiously for the Justice Lodha Committee's report which is set to recommend a host of reforms for the cricket body on Monday. While the three-member committee comprising Justice (Retd) RM Lodha, Justice (Retd) Ashok Bhan and Justice (Retd)RV Raveendran is set to submit their report to the Supreme Court, the BCCI will be keenly watching the proceedings as to whether the Apex Court makes the recommendations binding or not.
In a complete defiance of the Supremer Court, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, on Saturday, rejected key recommendations of the Lodha Committee, like one-state one-vote, age limit of 70 years and cooling-off period of three years, setting the stage for another round of confrontation with the apex court.
Justice Lodha said the verdict of the Supreme Court is supreme, after the panel filed its status report which has called for the removal of BCCI President Anurag Thakur and Secretary Ajay Shirke for non-compliance of the apex court's orders.
Former Indian team captain Bishan Singh Bedi and ex-cricketer Kirti Azad on Thursday batted in the Supreme Court for implementation of Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha committee's recommendation on structural reforms in the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
The Justice Lodha Committee on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking the removal of Board of Control for Cricket in India's top brass including President Anurag Thakur and Secretary Ajay Shirke for non-compliance of orders.
Drawing continuous flak from the Supreme Court for not implementing the Lodha Committee recommendations, Board of Control for Cricket in India president Anurag Thakur on Monday said the state units are currently confused about some of the suggestions and need more clarity before complying.
The Mumbai Cricket Association's scheduled meeting to discuss implications of the Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha committee report was postponed on Monday due to the indisposition of MCA president Sharad Pawar.
The only major point, where the amicus suggested a change was reverting to the five-man selection panel from the current three-member committee. It also suggested a change in 'Test Players Only' clause to minimum 20 first-class matches.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the Board of Control for Cricket in India's petition seeking review of the court verdict validating Lodha Panel recommendations.
The Supreme Court appointed Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha-panel on Tuesday categorically instructed the Board of Control for Cricket in India to implement a 15-step reform by October 15 ranging from constitutional reforms to principles of awarding various contracts, including the lucrative television rights.
implementable' There was no end to the stalemate surrounding the Board of Control for Cricket in India's standoff with the Lodha Committee with the Board deciding to continue its opposition to some of the reforms suggested by the Supreme Court-appointed panel after a meeting, in New Delhi, on Saturday.
Former Chief Justice of India Rajendra Mal Lodha, who recommended overhaul of the cricket governance in India, said things would move fast in the Board of Control for Cricket in India after the newly-appointed administrators take charge of the Cricket Board after January 19.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Anurag Thakur, on Monday, asserted that the Indian cricket board is ready to implement the Lodha Panel recommendations but added that the state cricket associations are still confused over the reforms.
Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Ajay Shirke responded to the letters sent by Justice Lodha Committee, stating that the BCCI cannot stop state associations from holding their elections.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly steered clear of giving an opinion on the Lodha Committee's reforms, which have been made binding by the Supreme Court, saying it is for the Board of Control for Cricket in India to decide.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India appointed former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju as the head of a four-member legal panel to help the BCCI understand the implications of the Justice Lodha Committee reforms, which have been made mandatory by the apex court.
A Special General Meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India will be held in New Delhi on Wednesday amid indication that a majority of its state association are in favour of partial adoption of Lodha Committee reforms in a bid to end the impasse.