For a real clean chit, the BCCI must be brought under RTI

In an interview late last year, Board of Control for Cricket in India president N Srinivasan spoke about the manner in which the organization is run. “The BCCI is not opaque. We are quite open to discussing how we function. I think a lot of systems are in place today, we are cooperating in a very professional fashion,” Srinivasan had said . A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then and perhaps it’s time for him to take back those words in a very professional manner. The BCCI’s probe panel has found no evidence against his team Chennai Super Kings in the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal. The probe also found no evidence against Gurunath Meiyappan – who is apparently just a Chennai Super Kings share holder – and Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra in the match-fixing or spot-fixing Indian Premier Scandal. According to CNN-IBN sources, they remained undecided on the betting charges against Gurunath. The report will now be tabled before the IPL Governing Council on 2 August and strangely enough, N Srinivasan could return as BCCI chief and chair the IPL Governing Council meeting. Doesn’t it all strike you as very convenient? [caption id=“attachment_992305” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The timing of the probe report is very ‘convenient’: PTI[/caption] “He himself has stepped down and now as probe is already finished, given to the working committee already, Srinivasan can come any time he wants to. He can chair the meeting,” BCCI vice-president Niranjan Shah said when asked if Srinivasan can chair the GC meeting in the capital. Shah also said, “If there is any substantial thing coming out later on in court of law or in police investigation then I think the things will still stand, means, if they are chargesheeted then, and if it is proven in the court of law, I think automatically then they are out of BCCI.” Then again, we could ask what was the hurry to conclude the probe? According to CNN-IBN sources, one of the reasons give to exonerate Gurunath and Kundra was that the Mumbai police refused to depose before the panel. According to another version of events, the Mumbai Police in its reply to the BCCI letter asking them had to depose, had asked under which provision of law this deposition would take place. The BCCI did not reply and then probe panel report said that they were exonerating Gurunath and India Cement because they received no evidence. The irony doesn’t end there. Srinivasan should have had nothing to do with appointing the inquiry committee in the first place – but both the probe panel members, former judges Chouta and Balasubramanian are from Chennai. Then again, if we give them the benefit of doubt – we still don’t know how they were selected or what documents they examined. We don’t know the veracity of the documents given to them by the BCCI because they cannot be examined, we don’t know whether they managed to speak to Gurunath (who can’t leave Mumbai at present), why were they not allowed to seek external evidence and why they didn’t try to get the Mumbai Police to give them any evidence at all. And on the basis of all this, the panel has exonerated everyone. The only thing that the BCCI is transparent about is the way in which it covered up the entire incident. Interim president Jagmohan Dalmiya has said that the probe panel report will be made public in due course. But why not do it right away? Srinivasan wanted to be back in the driver’s seat before the AGM in September and this report will allow him to do exactly that. And this is why the BCCI needs to come under the RTI act. They ran an internal inquiry, supplied the evidence and gave the accused a ‘clean chit.’ The people who follow cricket deserve to know how this happened; they deserve to know the truth. The BCCI is not a registered National Sports Federation (NSF) as it does not take government grants and thus, the Board has argued, it cannot be brought under RTI. The Supreme Court verdict in the 2005 Zee Telefilms case said writ petitions could be filed against it under Article 226 of the Constitution as it performed “public functions”. The Constitution bench said, “It is clear that when a private body exercises public functions, the aggrieved person has a remedy not only under the ordinary law but also under the Constitution, by way of a writ petition under Article 226”. And the same is true for the BCCI as well. Let them run cricket as they do – that isn’t the problem. The inner dealings of the BCCI, however, are another matter and that is why the threat of the RTI act might bring about a real clean up of the organization. It could be the sword of Damocles that will constantly hang over their heads and force them to do the right thing. The probe panel was supposed to help the BCCI restore credibility but as things stand, it has only made things worse. Anyone who has lost anything precious will tell you that it is only when you lose it, that you really learn to value it. The BCCI has abused its independence. It’s time for them to lose it.