HC dismisses plea against Srinivasan

In a relief to N. Srinivasan, chairperson of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the sidelined president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation petition against him.

The plea sought quashing of amendment to two rules of the BCCI on the grounds of conflict of interest. It claimed that the rules were amended to protect the commercial interest of Mr. Srinivasan and his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan.

“There are certain allegations against Mr. Srinivasan. But mere allegations can’t be a reason to interfere in the proceedings of a private body. Mere allegations, even if true, can’t be the reason to raise doubt against the majority’s decision,” a Division Bench of Justices Anoop Mohta and N.M Jamdar observed.

The court said the amendments were carried out unanimously, further restricting the court’s jurisdiction in the affairs of a “statutory body governed by statute.”

It also observed that the petitioner was never a member of the BCCI, and had no personal knowledge of the issues. He had filed the plea on the basis of information from various sources, and had not given any substantiating evidence about the allegations made against Mr. Srinivasan, it said.

“At this stage, we see no material placed on record except averments to challenge the amendments. Writ jurisdiction is difficult to accept at this stage merely on the basis of assumption and presumption,” the court said in its order.

Aditya Prakash Verma, Secretary of Cricket Association of Bihar, moved the High Court in November last year, challenging amendment to clauses 6.2.4 and 15 of the BCCI regulations.

Clause 6.2.4 pertains to conflict of interest whereby the amendment was carried out to exclude T20 from the ambit of commercial activity. “No official of BCCI can take any benefit from any commercial event except T20, the amendment reads,” Mr. Verma said in the plea. He claimed that the exclusion of IPL from the scope of commercial activity led to conflict of interest.