All eyes are on BCCI president Anurag Thakur after the Supreme Court on Friday ordered him to file a “personal affidavit” and come clean on whether he approached the International Cricket Council CEO David Richardson to issue a letter stating that the recommendations of the Court-appointed Justice Lodha Committee reforms are tantamount to government interference.
If true, Mr. Thakur's move would be a cause of major embarrassment for the BCCI as the Supreme Court had already by then upheld the Justice Lodha reforms, especially the inclusion of a CAG nominee in the BCCI Apex Council, as a measure to bring in financial transparency.
As per the ICC rules “government interference” in a cricketing body would lead to suspension from world cricket. Mr. Thakur has to file his reply in the Supreme Court in the next 10 days.
The issue came up before a Bench led by Chief Justice T.S. Thakur during a day-long hearing on Thursday on a status report filed by Justice Lodha Committee recommending the court to replace the current BCCI top brass. Amicus curiae and senior advocate Gopal Subramanium informed the court about the Richardson affair, adding that the (BCCI) are “accusing David Richardson of making a false statement”.
“But we had already clearly stated that CAG nominee in the Board does not amount to government interference,” Chief Justice Thakur clarified.
The Supreme Court had also endorsed the Lodha panel's recommendation for inclusion of nominees of the Accountant General of States in the governing body of State cricket associations.
“It is evident from a careful reading of the Report (Lodha Committee report) that the object underlying the induction of the nominees of the Accountant General of the States and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is to bring transparency and financial oversight into the affairs of the State Associations and BCCI,” the Supreme Court had observed.
