Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Tuesday asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to manage the affairs of the game in the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh till the elections of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) are completed. It also discontinued Court Appointed Administrators (CAA) and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the association.
A division bench comprising Justices Ali Mohammad Magrey and Puneet Gupta, in a 40-page order, also directed the BCCI to see if the newly drafted Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations by the CAA were in accordance with the Lodha Committee recommendations or need amendments.
Also Read: BCCI runs Level 2 coaching courses for cricketers who played 75 first-class matches
Earlier, in 2017, the court’s single bench has appointed Justice CK Prasad, a former judge of the Supreme Court, and Justice Syed Rafat Alam, former Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh and Allahabad High Courts, as Administrators of the JKCA. They were tasked to ensure free and fair elections of the association as well as amend the rules of the JKCA in conformity with the recommendations made by the Lodha Committee.
On December 6, a division bench while upholding the judgment of the single judge ordered that the disputes between various clubs affiliated to JKCA shall be resolved by an ombudsman appointed by the court, and not by the CAA.
Accordingly, the court-appointed former Justice Syed Bashir-ud-din as the ombudsman. Besides, the division bench appointed former DIG Ashiq Hussain Bukhari as the chief executive officer to assist the CAA to manage the affairs of the association.
Consequently, the CAA drafted a Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations. Among others, the CAA, as argued by one of the litigating parties before the court, among others ended the monopoly of a few clubs and replaced them with district associations to adopt the policy of ‘territorial representation’ for the formation of the association and ended the earlier practice of denial of representation to each and every territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the JKCA.
The division bench of Justices Ali Mohammad Magrey and Puneet Gupta in their order observed, “Having gone through the rival stands adopted by the learned appearing counsel for the parties concerned along-with connected matters coupled with the facts giving rise to the instant litigation; as also keeping in view the directions passed by the Supreme Court from time to time; and the overall object of promoting the game of cricket in Jammu and Kashmir, we are of the view that it shall not be appropriate for this court to go into the question of ascertaining whether the Memorandum of Association and Rules of Regulations so framed by the CAA of the JKCA are in tune with the recommendations of the Lodha Committee.”
Also Read: As COVID-19 cases surge, BCCI suspends all group-group tournaments
The BCCI, the court said, is expected to have all expertise required for answering the question being the apex body for managing and controlling the activities of the game of cricket in India, including Jammu and Kashmir.
The BCCI shall, as an interim measure and till a new body of the JKCA is elected under its supervision, run the management, control and administration of the JKCA immediately upon being handed over the same by the CAA, the court said in another direction.
