Supreme Court rejects government plea to postpone BCCI case hearing by two weeks

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a government request to postpone hearing of the case involving the cricket board by two weeks, and indicated that it would nominate as early as next Monday an interim team of administrators to oversee the sports body’s activities.

The government had sought postponement of the hearing so that it could work on a law or an executive order that would bring in “uniformity” in sports administration in the country.

Such a development could have allowed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to come out of the strict watch of the Supreme Court, which wants the BCCI to implement the recommendations of the court-appointed Lodha panel to bring accountability and transparency in cricket administration.

On Tuesday, the government’s highest law officer, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi, requested the court to defer the case. “The government wants to work out a solution. Some sort of uniformity is required either through executive or legislative action. Sports bodies must be autonomous. The bench should hold it over by two weeks,” the AG told a bench led by justice Dipak Misra.


He suggested that court action impinging on the autonomy of a sports body like BCCI would also have international ramifications and may even affect the game. The cricket board too had argued that court-mandated reforms might result in its suspension from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Justice Misra rejected the plea. “Where were you earlier when the case was being heard? Review and curative against the July 18, 2016 order have been rejected,” the judge said. “If you bring in a law, you don’t know its impact on the international arena. We don’t know the executive authority of a code unless there is a consensus. That will take time. Till then the BCCI must have autonomy … without any impurities,” justice Misra said.

The court indicated that it would appoint an interim body of administrators on Monday, comprising people of eminence and integrity to oversee reforms at the BCCI.