SC to hear BCCI plea seeking permission to do away with ‘cooling-off’ period

The case is significant for the BCCI as the date of amendments may decide the tenures of its president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah.

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: The BCCI urged the court to revise a rule in its new Constitution which mandates that administrators have to go through a three-year ‘cooling-off period’ after six successive years in the BCCI or any State association.

The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, will hear the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)‘s plea seeking permission to allow amendments to its Constitution and do away with the mandatory ‘cooling-off’ period.

It has been listed before the bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana. 

The case is significant for the BCCI as the date of amendments may decide the tenures of its president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah.

The BCCI urged the court to revise a rule in its new Constitution which mandates that administrators have to go through a three-year ‘cooling-off period’ after six successive years in the BCCI or any State association.

The ‘cooling-off period’ was a major recommendation made by the Justice R.M. Lodha Committee to reform cricket administration in the country.

The court had adjourned the case on April 16, 2021 after the amicus curiae sought time to compile the submissions of the various lawyers.

In its 2018 judgement, the Supreme Court had seen eye-to-eye with Justice Lodha’s conclusion that “the game will be better off without cricketing oligopolies”. 

To this end, the court had supported the recommendation of the Justice Lodha panel that cricket administrators should undergo a “cooling-off period” before contesting elections to the BCCI or State associations.

The Ganguly-led panel had taken charge of the BCCI in October 2019.