SC blocks fund use as BCCI refuses to implement Lodha reforms

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered a freeze on the fund flows from the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) even as the board stood defiant in its resolve not to implement the recommendations of the Justice (retd) Lodha Panel. 

The apex court directed BCCI not to release funds until the state associations filed affidavits implementing recommendations of Lodha panel report. The state cricket associations could not get any money from the national cricket body till that time they complied with the Lodha committee's recommendations, the court said.

A bench led by Chief Justice TS Thakur stood firm by its 7 October decision to choke the financial jugular of BCCI's 25 state cricket associations till they fall in line.

''The sequence of events that have taken place since July 18, 2016 and referred to in the status report (of the Lodha Committee) prima facie give an impression that BCCI has far from lending its fullest cooperation to the Committee adopted an obstructionist and at times a defiant attitude which the Committee has taken note of and described as an impediment undermining not only the Committee but even the dignity of this court,'' Chief Justice Thakur had wrote in the October 7 order.

None of the board's member State associations will get a single penny from the BCCI coffers till they comply in "letter and spirit" with the Justice RM Lodha Committee reforms, the SC stated in its judgment.

The court in its judgment directed the Lodha panel to fix a ceiling for contracts BCCI can enter into. Contracts worth beyond this financial limit would require Lodha panel approval.

The Lodha Committee has been asked to appoint an independent auditor to scrutinise BCCI accounts and fix the financial limits for contracts.

The court ordered BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke to file compliance report within two weeks regarding the implementation of the cricket reforms suggested by the apex-court-appointed panel.

It asked the Lodha panel to also apprise ICC chairman Shashank Manohar of the court's orders.

On October 7, Chief Justice Thakur had made the court's hard stand clear by ordering that BCCI will not disburse Rs16.73 crore each to 12 state cricket associations. These dozen associations were yet to get the balance payment of their share from nearly Rs2,500 crore BCCI received towards compensation on account of termination of Champion League T20.

Chief Justice Thakur had directed that the pending Rs16.73 crore and any future funds would be released only after the State associations passed resolutions undertaking to comply with the Lodha reforms.

As for the remaining 13 member state associations that have already received Rs16.73 crore, they can only use the money after passing their respective resolutions to implement the Lodha Committee reforms.