Will Jaya-led TN govt take suo moto action against BCCI?

If the BCCI resists public pressure for probity, the Tamil Nadu government can suo moto initiate action since it is a society registered in the state under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act. The state had in the past initiated similar action against the powerful and iconic Music Academy and undertaken criminal proceedings. Quoting jurists and lawyers in the state, a report in the Times of India , said the registrar of societies in the state can initiate an inquiry and issue a show-cause notice to the cricketing body under Section 36 of the Societies Act. “Section 36 of the Act empowers the inspector-general of registration and the district registrar concerned to inquire into financial mismanagement, malfeasance and contravention of other Rules, either suo moto or on petition from a majority or one-third members of the society concerned,” the report said. Although finding grounds for action, particularly violation of the Societies Act, are not easy and complaints from within the BCCI are almost impossible, this is certainly an option to rein in the BCCI if it is not amenable to public scrutiny. Under the present political climate, the BCCI President N Srinivasan is unlikely to get any sympathy from the state government. His proximity to the DMK leadership is publicly known. Even the lawyer, Bharat Raman, who accompanied his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan to Mumbai, is from the DMK camp and was the former Advocate General of the state government when the party was in power. He has appeared for people close to the DMK camp, including a lottery kingpin in Kerala. The AIADMK government has been quiet on the surface, but its police is reportedly piecing together the links of the betting network. For instance, the hotelier who Mumbai Police was looking for, with regard to his role as a bookie as well as his alleged links with Meiyappan, had already been picked up by the state police.