Supreme Court to hear BCCI plea for Sourav Ganguly, Jay Shah tenure extensions

New Delhi, December 9: The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Nageshwar Rao will hear a plea from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for changes in its constitution, including the extension of tenures of president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah on December 9.

The three-judge bench, which includes Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Ajay Rastogi, is expected to make a judgment that is expected to have a significant impact on the BCCI administration. A two-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde heard a plea from the BCCI in July but a decision was postponed.

In its latest plea, the BCCI is seeking to make tweaks to key areas of the constitution, including the cooling-off period clause. The BCCI argues that the cooling-off period will deprive worthy administrators of a continued run and affect continuity at the richest cricket board in the globe, India Today reported.

After the Lodha committee recommendations came into effect, it became mandatory that the BCCI office-bearers will have to go into a cooling-off period for 3 years after serving for 6 years as an office-bearer in either a state association or the Indian cricket board.

Ganguly and Shah took charge as BCCI president and secretary, respectively, in October 2019 They have already served more than six years as BCCI office bearers and are ineligible to continue their posts at the top brass.

Ganguly had earlier held positions in the Cricket Association of Bengal. The former India captain began as joint secretary at the CAB in 2014. Jay Shah was a joint secretary in the Gujarat Cricket Association after starting out in 2013.

The BCCI president, speaking to India Today earlier this year, had said he was not sure whether he would get an extension or not and pointed out how the Covid-19 pandemic had made life difficult for the newly-appointed office bearers. “I don’t know whether we will get an extension or not. If we don’t, we don’t, I move on to something else,” Ganguly had said. Ganguly was at the helm of the BCCI as the board managed to overcome crisis situation and host the Indian Premier League successfully in the UAE in September-November.

Also, the BCCI wants to do away the criterion of 70 years for an office-bearer in the board. The apex body of Indian cricket claims that the board will be deprived of experienced people representing the country at the International Cricket Council due to the clause.

https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cricket/story/supreme-court-bcci-plea-cooling-off-period-sourav-ganguly-jay-shah-extension-1747939-2020-12-09