Hyderabad Cricket Association case referred to CJI

Case pertains to the appointment of the ombudsman and ethics officer by the HCA's apex council 

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday referred the long-pending dispute over the Hyderabad Cricket Association to the Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna for tagging it with a case concerning Board of Control for Cricket in India.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Satish Chandra Sharma took note of the submissions senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and others saying the issues in the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) case may conflict with the other pending matter.

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The other plea pertained to the issue of alignment of State cricket associations’ constitutions with that of the BCCI.

The case at hand stemmed from a challenge to the appointment of the ombudsman and ethics officer by the HCA’s apex council which was alleged to be in violation of the association’s constitution.

A Hyderabad civil court, hearing the initial dispute, suspended the appointments, but the order was set aside by the Telangana High Court, which not only reinstated the appointments but also dismissed the originating suit, prompting the HCA to move the top court.

The apex court, during the pendency of the case, appointed a supervisory committee in August, 2022, chaired by a retired Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, to oversee the HCA’s operations.

Later in February, 2023, it dissolved the committee, emphasising on the need for fair elections, which were conducted under the supervision of a single-member committee led by a retired apex court judge.

The single-member committee proposed constitutional amendments for the HCA, triggering widespread objections and debate among the stakeholders.

“Having given our anxious consideration and without going into the merits of the matters, once the issue is raised that the recommendations made by the single member committee which are to be approved/disapproved in the present case, may be in conflict or not in consonance with the constitution, regulations and guidelines of the BCCI, it would only be appropriate that these matters may be tagged…and heard by the same Bench,” the court said.

The matter was subsequently referred to Chief Justice of India for appropriate orders.

On December 5, 2023, the top court provisionally implemented the recommendations, terming them “salutary” but allowed parties to present their views before the final approval.