HCA apex council issues showcause notice to president Azharuddin

The former India captain has been charged for misconduct and his HCA membership has been terminated till further investigation.

The Apex Council of Hyderabad Cricket Association issued a showcause notice to its president Mohammad Azharuddin on Tuesday.

The Apex Council of Hyderabad Cricket Association issued a showcause notice to its president Mohammad Azharuddin on Tuesday stating that he stands suspended until final adjudication.

The former India captain has been charged for misconduct and his HCA membership has been terminated till further investigation.

"The Apex Council is left with no option but to issue the showcause notice and invoking 40 (6) pending inquiry and proceeding into complaints and charges of misconduct the Apex Council has suspended you until final adjudication that included termination of your membership in HCA setting out the below mentioned details," said the show cause notice

“The Council in its meeting held on June 10 has decided after careful consideration of various complaints made by the members of the general body and also on its volition had duly deliberated about your various acts of commission and omission in its meeting held and has decided to issue the show cause notice to you according to Rule 41 (1) (b) and 15 (4) (c),” the Apex Council stated in the notice to Azhar.

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“The complaint (against Azhar) discloses that you are a mentor of a private cricket club in Dubai by name Northern Warriors which participates in a T10 cricket tournament which is unrecognised by the BCCI,” the show cause mentioned.

“The fact of you being a mentor has not been communicated to the HCA at any time. It is also apparent that you have not communicated the same to the BCCI. Therefore you being a mentor of an unrecognised tournament comes under the ambit of conflict of interest as envisaged under Rule 38 (1) (iii) of the Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations 2018 of HCA,” it is stated.

“You (Azhar) have addressed a letter to the Secretary of HCA on December 14, 2019, requesting inter alia to inform the BCCI about your retirement from active cricket from March 6, 2000, when you had played your last one-day international match. It is evident from the said letter that you have not informed the BCCI or the HCA about your retirement from active cricket before that letter,” the show cause notice mentioned.

“As you (Azhar) are aware a period of five years should have lapsed for you to contest an election from the time of you informing the HCA and the BCCI about your retirement,” the notice stated.

“It is also apparent that with your communication to the Canara Bank (Dilsukhnagar) where HCA maintains an account that you had deliberately tried to stall all financial transactions and commitments of HCA and cripple the Apex Council from discharging its financial obligations,” the show cause notice said.

“That you (Azhar) had illegally and unlawfully and in an unauthorised and dictatorial fashion tried to foist Justice Deepak Verma as an Ombudsman to HCA and unilaterally fixed his remuneration. The said illegal act speaks volumes of your actions against the collective will of the general body which had appointed Justice Nisar Ahmed Kakru as the Ombudsman and Justice Meena Kumari as the Ethics Officer,” the notice pointed out.

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“Without attending any meetings of the Apex Council and writing letters to either cancel, postpone, prevaricate and also stating the meetings are illegal is highly deplorable and disturbing,” the notice said.

“You (Azhar) have committed various acts of indiscipline and misconduct which are detrimental to the interest of HCA and the game of cricket,” it is said.

“Therefore, the show cause notice is being issued to you calling for your explanation within seven days on receipt of this notice and failing which the Apex Council will initiate action in according with the Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations 2018,” the Apex Council concluded in the notice signed by the Secretary R. Vijayanand, vice-president K. John Manoj, joint secretary Naresh Sharma, treasurer Surender Kumar Agarwal and Councillor P. Anuradha.