Govt. asked to clarify stand on BCCI status

The Delhi high court on Monday asked the government of India to clarify whether the Board of Control for Cricket in India is performing a public duty while managing the affairs of the game, and the court could issue a writ direction to it in that capacity under Article 226.

A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Arijit Passayat and Justice D K Jain, sought a clarifiction from the government on the issue after a single bench judgement on cricketer Ajay Jadeja's petition, holding that the BCCI is "prima facie" performing a public duty, was placed before it.

"The ball is now in the court of the Central government," the bench said, asking Additional Solicitor General K K Sud to clarify the government stand on the issue.

The clarification was sought by the court during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation, seeking a probe into the functioning of the BCCI, in light of the match-fixing allegations agains several cricketers.

Before Sud could make a statement, BCCI counsel Radha Ramaswamy sought adjournement of the case for at least two weeks as the board said it is studying the single judge order.

Justice Mukul Mudgal, in an interim order on Jadeja's writ petition, challenging the five-year ban on him, had last week said when the government allows BCCI to "assume the prerogative" of being the sole representative of India for cricket then it "necessarily imbues the board with public function so far as the regulation of the game is concerned".

The BCCI had challenged the PIL on the ground that no direction could be issued to it by the court as it is not a government body, but a private society.

Mail Cricket Editor