NEW DELHI: The Justice Lodha Panel, in its third status report submitted to the Supreme Court last week, has requested that the top brass of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) administration be dismissed for its continued noncompliance of the implementation of the Lodha recommendations in toto.

The Justice RN Lodha-led panel further recommended (1) the appointment of former Home Secretary of India, GK Pillai, as an ‘Observer of the BCCI’ to supervise the administration of the board by the Chief Executive Officer (Rahul Johri) and (2) empowering the committee to appoint all necessary secretarial staff, assistance and fix remuneration.

The status report submitted by Lodha Committe secretary Gopal Sankarana­rayanan highlighted several categories of disqualification of a BCCI office-bearer according to the recommendations, ratified by the Supreme Court of India in its landmark July 18 verdict.

The panel observed that several office-bearers in the BCCI and in the state associations continue to be in violation of the age and tenure cap proposed by the Lodha panel. “It is submitted that those individuals who fall foul of these norms be declared to cease to hold office forthwith,” the Lodha committee stated in its status report.

“While the day to day administration of the BCCI is presently carried out by the CEO and certain managers who assist him in this regard, there would be a need to appoint an Observer who would guide the BCCI in its administration, particularly with reference to the award of contracts, transparency norms, audit, etc., for domestic, international and IPL cricket to be played hereafter,” the report added.

The Lodha committee had sought the dismissal of the top brass of the BCCI in its first status report (Sept 28) over what it saw as the BCCI taking a defiant stance towards the implementation of the reforms. The board missed the first deadline with regards to the adoption of the Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations and then subsequently took a rather selective approach towards accepting the Lodha reforms during its Oct 1 Special General Meeting.

Published in Dawn November 22nd, 2016