The Supreme Court on Monday found the former BCCI President N. Srinivasan ineligible to represent the Board at the ICC meet on April 24, explaining that he had been found guilty of both conflict of interest and abuse of authority.
Instead, the bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A. M. Khanwilkar and Justice D. Y. Chandrachud nominated acting-secretary of the BCCI, Amitabh Choudhary, accompanied by Rahul Johri, the Board's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), to attend the ICC meeting of Chief Executive Officers.
“Regard being had to the significance of representation of the BCCI in the said international body, i.e., ICC, it is directed that Amitabh Chaudhary shall represent the BCCI before the ICC and Mr. Rahul Johri shall accompany him and also attend the meeting of the Chief Executive Officers,” the court ordered.
The Committee of Administrators (CoA), represented by senior advocate P. Chidambaram, had raised a stiff objection to the former BCCI President N. Srinivasan and Niranjan Shah representing the Board at the ICC meet. The CoA had submitted that both veterans were over 70-years of age and rendered ineligible to become office-bearers in the BCCI and state cricket associations by virtue of the Supreme Court's verdict.
"N. Srinivasan cannot go (for ICC meeting). This person (Srinivasan) was held guilty by this court for conflict of interest and abuse of authority. He cannot go,” the Bench orally observed.
Mr. Chidambaram argued whether whether a disqualified person (Srinivasan) can represent the Board at an ICC meeting on revenue-sharing arrangements between the ICC members.
“A man disqualified, stand disqualified,” Justice Misra reacted.
On April 10, in the last hearing, some member State cricket associations of the BCCI had sought a detailed hearing on the point whether the disqualifications — first proposed by the Justice Lodha Committee and later confirmed by the Supreme Court in its judgment – pertain only to person who attempt to become officebearers.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and Additional Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, for State cricket associations and government bodies, who are BCCI members, had argued that the disqualifications do not apply to persons who participate in the BCCI meets to select nominees for the ICC meeting.
Senior advocate Gopal Subramanium had intervened as amicus curiae to ask whether a man found not eligible to contest the BCCI polls should go to ICC.
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