SC slams BCCI for defiant attitude towards reforms

TIL Desk Sports/ Slamming the BCCI for its “defiant attitude,” Supreme Court on Thursday said it will pass an order tomorrow to make the cash-rich board “fall in line” to adopt Lodha Committee’s directions and stop disbursing funds to state associations reluctant to reform, raising questions over the fate of the ongoing domestic cricket matches.

“Let there be no domestic matches in that case,” a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said after BCCI’s counsel Kapil Sibal said if payments to the state associations are stopped, the domestic season would be at stake as 18 state bodies have written to the Board that they cannot hold these matches which have already started.

“You must not create a defiant attitude. This is not going to lead you anywhere,” the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said emphasising that transparency, fairness and objectivity were the most important aspects in all decisions including disbursal of funds by BCCI.

Expressing anguish over BCCI “hurriedly” disbursing about Rs 400 crore to state bodies which were reluctant to accept the recommendations for reforms, the bench said, “we are being forced into a situation that they are asking for our interference” with the Lodha panel also recommending “superseding” of the existing office-bearers with court- appointed administrators of “impeccable integrity”.