As SC defers BCCI hearing to 4 July, state units continue to struggle for consensus over age-cap clause

On a day the Supreme Court (SC) deferred hearing on suggestions regarding the implementation of constitutional reforms to 4 July, reports have emerged that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) members are still not in agreement with certain recommendations put forth by the Justice RM Lodha Committee.

A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, was scheduled to hear the suggestions of BCCI office-bearers regarding changes in the draft constitution on Friday, but the hearing was postponed to 4 July.

According to a report in Times of India, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary, on Thursday, declared that 12 state units out of 37 were in agreement regarding four suggested changes in the recommendations of the Justice RM Lodha committee. These units have also submitted the common four-point suggestion to amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium.

Choudhary, with the support of these 12 associations, also suggested having six representatives in the apex council. The 12 state units are Andhra, Assam, Goa, Jharkhand, Kerala, Mumbai, Rajasthan, Railways, Tripura, Universities, Uttar Pradesh and Vidarbha.

According to Choudhary, the court should consider doing away with the cooling-off period of three years, the distribution of power between elected officials and professionals, the constitution of apex council and the one-state-one-vote clause, which the SC has already agreed to revisit.

However, other factions are still uncomfortable with the 70-year age cap on officials, the report claims.

“Suppose a candidate with a strong political clout contests an election and everyone in the board feels that only a veteran administrator who is just past 70 could stop him, what will the board do then? Every member is looking after his own interests of coming back in the board once elections are done. Certain factions don’t want veteran administrators to return,” a BCCI official told TOI.

It is believed that CJI Misra had slated the new hearing for Tuesday, 15 May, but amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium informed the bench that he would be on leave, and so the hearing has been postponed to 4 July.