HC bench stays order imposing cost on AC Muthiah

A Division Bench of the Madras HC has stayed an order imposing a cost of Rs 25,000 on former cricket board president AC Muthiah, who had sought to restrain N Srinivasan from functioning as the Board Secretary.

A Division Bench of the Madras High Court has stayed a single judge's order imposing a cost of Rs 25,000 on former cricket board president A C Muthiah, who had sought to restrain N Srinivasan from functioning as the Board Secretary on the ground that he had breached the code of conduct for administrators.

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The bench comprising Justice K Ravijara Pandian and Justice PPS Janarthana Raja granted the interim relief on Wednesday on a petition by Muthiah.

On July 13, Justice K Chandru, declining to interfere with the BCCI affairs, had dismissed an application from Muthiah and imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on him holding that he had not made out any prima facie case and the very locus standi of the petitioner in maintaining the suits themselves was doubtful.

Muthiah had alleged that as the then BCCI Treasurer Srinivasan flouted rules when he bid for the Chennai Super Kings team in the Indian Premier League. The board later amended rules excluding Srinivasan from the ambit of its rules, he contended.

Senior advocate Nalini Chidambaram appearing before the bench for Muthiah submitted her client had moved the court only to "uphold the probity in the activities of the BCCI... and to establish that the power of amendment has been abused by a public body to protect the interest of an individual."

Challenging the single judge's order, Muthiah argued the court could not refuse to exercise the power of judicial review and adopt a self-imposed policy of judicial restraint in the matter of management of public bodies.