NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up the BCCI for resisting the Justice RM Lodha-led committee’s recommendation on capping the age of its office bearers to 70 years, observing that “when politicians nowadays are retiring at that age, then why can’t you quit?”.
“Why 70? You should quit at 60. Nowadays even politicians are being forced to retire at 70, then why can’t the officer bearers of BCCI do it? Persons above the age of 70 and having wisdom and experience can be given advisory roles,” a bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur said.
The bench also comprising Justice FMI Kalifulla, referred to former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya — who died at the age of 75 — and said that he was not able to communicate during his last days.
“The past president (Jagmohan Dalmiya) could not communicate. Why did those who elected him could not see why they were electing him? BCCI president has been given five years more than Supreme Court judges. Can you suppose a situation when a president could not communicate. A person managing the affairs of cricket should be physically agile” the bench said.
Senior advocate Arvind Dattar — appearing for the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association — said that some recommendations could not be implemented. “Lodha panel was formed to look into allegations of spot fixing, but it went on to recommend structural reforms which was not possible to implement due to the laws and bye-laws of cricket associations,” he said.
“Betting and match-fixing were deep rooted diseases. It is the root which has been found by the committee. The disease (in BCCI) was so deep-rooted that it could not have been healed with medicines. It needed proper diagnosis and a surgery which was important. Hence a competent committee of dedicated, committed and honest doctors was formed to do it,” said the Supreme Court. To this, Dattar said, “It was actually chemotherapy.”
The bench also pulled up the body on advertisements aired, and asked whether a person sitting infront of a TV has any stake in cricket or not.