BCCI officials having commercial interests

25/01/2015

The Supreme Court's Thursday verdict on the IPL mess has certainly to do with Mr N Srinivasan, but it also goes beyond him. In barring Mr Srinivasan from contesting for the presidentship of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the court has unambiguously ruled that BCCI officials having commercial interests in cricket, such as in the Indian Premier League, cannot hold positions on the board. In other words, the apex court has struck down the amendment to Rule 6.2.4 of the IPL which allowed the clash of interest.
It is this action that makes the verdict a landmark one, and it will go a long way in cleansing Indian cricket, which has been beset since the amendment came into being in September 2008. And so, while Mr Srinivasan has been immediately hit by the ruling — he cannot stand for BCCI presidentship unless he gives up his interests in Chennai Super Kings — the doors have been closed on other officials too who may have entertained the idea to follow in Mr Srinivasan's footsteps. This is a most welcome development, since even common sense would revolt against a situation where a BCCI official, who is mandated to protect cricket against vested interests, also holds a stake in a team that comes under the monitoring umbrella. Unfortunately, Mr Srinivasan had not seen the writing on the wall as material mounted against this practice, and, prompted by his misguided well-wishers, decided to be belligerent in the face of justified opposition. Of course, he can take solace from the fact that the apex court has not found him culpable of a cover-up. But then again, the court also did not find his actions above suspicion, and merely said that suspicion does not equal culpability. That said, Mr Srinivasan has egg on his face. He would have been saved the embarrassment had he quit his claim to presidentship after the court's observations during its earlier sittings had set the tone for what was to come. But he, along with his supporters, had latched on to technicalities and decided to ignore the spirit of the case.
There is another reason why the Thursday verdict is a landmark one: It has shattered the cocoon of privacy that the BCCI had managed to maintain all these years on the pretext that it was not a state organisation that should be put to public scrutiny. While the Bench did not declare the BCCI as a Government body, it clearly stated that “the functions of the board are clearly public functions…no matter discharged by a society registered under the Registration of Societies Act.”
This validates the stand which various people connected with the affairs of cricket in the country have maintained — that the BCCI, which partakes of many facilities and concessions from the Centre and State Governments, cannot escape public accountability.
The Supreme Court's ruling will not just open up the BCCI to greater scrutiny but coan also lead to renewed demands that the Government should have a larger say in the functioning of other sports organisations, especially when things get rotten — as they have in quite a few of these outfits. Meanwhile, the BCCI must seize upon the opportunity and move swiftly to cleanse its internal affairs. The big question is: Will it? Its members are responsible people who cannot be oblivious to the pressing desire to do so.

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