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Lalit Modi row: SC sets date for poll results, uncertainty in RCA
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the court appointed commissioner to announce the controversial Rajasthan Cricket Association election results, pending since December, on May 6.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the court appointed commissioner to announce the controversial Rajasthan Cricket Association election results, pending since December, on May 6.
Brushing aside the cricket Board’s submission that if banned former IPL commissioner, Lalit Modi, is elected, the state body’s disqualification process would begin, a bench headed by Justice AR Dave verbally told the BCCI counsel, senior advocate CA Sundaram, that it was at liberty to take action under its rules.
The court directed the SC registry to send the results, filed in a sealed envelope before it, back to the observer, Justice (retd) NM Kasliwal, to declare the result. It said anyone aggrieved about the outcome can challenge it before an appropriate authority.
SC had on November 20, 2013 made Justice Kasliwal principal observer to oversee the elections and he accepted Modi’s nomination. The elections were held on December 19. Modi’s rival candidate, Rampal Sharma, moved the SC challenging Justice Kasliwal’s decision to permit Modi to contest. The BCCI too sought the court’s intervention.
The cricket board said Modi was banned for life from BCCI on September 25 last year after its disciplinary committee found him guilty on eight counts of ‘indiscipline and misconduct’. Modi, it added, would find his way back into BCCI if elected the Rajasthan unit president.
The disciplinary committee comprising Arun Jaitley and Jyotiraditya Scindia had submitted a 134-page report in July, 2013, finding Modi guilty of financial irregularities, indiscipline and committing “actions detrimental to the interest of the BCCI”.
Modi elated
Modi was delighted. “Extremely grateful to honourable Supreme Court for allowing the opening of RCA elections ballots. Looking forward to results now being opened,” he tweeted.
His lawyer, Mehmood M Abdi, slammed the BCCI for trying to derail the election process. “The Supreme Court refused to cancel the nomination of Lalit Modi, and did not restrain Modi from taking charge as the RCA president, if he is declared elected. In doing this, the court prevented BCCI from directly taking over the cricketing activities in Rajasthan.”
