Srinagar: The J&K High Court Tuesday ordered to put in abeyance the conduct of elections for J&K Cricket Association (JKCA) and directed its Committee of Administrators to specifically look into the routine affairs of the Association.
The court reserved its judgment on a petition by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) seeking appointment of an adhoc committee to conduct the affairs, management and administration of JKCA saying the incumbent management “had failed” to implement the court directions on the matter in letter and spirit.
Justices Ali Mohammad Magrey and Puneet Gupta directed “till the final decision in the matter, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) so appointed by this court shall only look into the routine day to day affairs of the JKCA; besides, the conduct of the proposed elections of the office bearers of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) shall also remain in abeyance”.
Counsels for the parties have meanwhile been put at liberty to submit their written arguments by 22nd of March through the Bench Secretary of J&K High Court.
Counsel appearing for the BCCI had in his petition in early March submitted that the present administrators of JKCA and CEO were obliged under law to hold free and fair elections for J&K’s highest cricketing body besides amending its constitution in conformity with the Lodha Panel within two months.
According to the lawyer even after a gap of more than two-and-half years, neither the constitution has been amended, nor were elections of the JKCA being held.
Senior advocate Mohsin Qadri appearing on behalf of various J&K cricket clubs informed the court that the Administrators and CEO have amended the JKCA rules in contravention of the mandate of law as also against the Lodha Committee which he said, was approved by the Supreme Court.
He further added that the Administrators and CEO withdrew the memberships as well as voting rights of the cricketing clubs who were members of JKCA.
The BCCI had also moved an application informing that the Board had received complaints against the Administrators and CEO of JKCA.
“Committee of Administrators of JKCA and CEO are deliberately trying to create disputes by excluding the affiliate clubs by forming District Committees. Administrators as well as JKCA CEO have no authority to go beyond the scope of the order of Supreme Court as such the affairs, functions, administration and management of JKCA may be permitted to be taken over by the adhoc committee formed by BCCI,” his application read.
The number of litigations in different courts came to be filed by two factions one headed by Dr Farooq Abdullah and another led by Imran Raza Ansari from 2015 claiming to be the office bearers of JKCA, which as per the BCCI has hampered the object of promoting the cricket activities in the Association.
The Division Bench while deciding the matters on October 2017 had appointed an ombudsman for settlement of disputes among the clubs and JKCA.
The two administrators — C K Prasad (retired Supreme Court Judge) and Syed Rafat Alam (the then Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh) — had appointed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari (retired IPS) as Chief Executive Officer for running the affairs of JKCA till rules were amended and elections held.
