KOCHI: Justice V Ramkumar, ombudsman-cum-ethics officer appointed by Kerala Cricket Association to solve the disputes within the organisation, has spent Rs 1.50 crore to dispose of eight cases within a span of two years, the association secretary informed the Kerala High Court on Wednesday.
This was stated in an affidavit filed in response to a petition challenging the KCA action to relieve retired Justice Ramkumar of the charge of the office of the ombudsman. Sreejith V Nair, KCA secretary, also informed the court that immediately after his appointment as the ombudsman, Justice Ramkumar had sought C81.06 lakh from the KCA for running the office from November 2017 to October 2018. The KCA also produced the budget estimate before the court.
According to KCA, Justice Ramkumar insisted on having 11 staff members, one vehicle for him and another for his staff and a court hall. Though the KCA officials requested him to reduce the number of employees, the ombudsman refused to accept it. So, KCA reluctantly approved the budget of Justice Ramkumar. Despite the expiry of his term in October 2018, he had submitted a budget of C80.71 lakh for the period from October 2018 to October 2019. He had again turned down the second request of the KCA officials to reduce the expenditure.
He had been drawing a salary equivalent to the pay of a High Court judge till the expiry of the term. The KCA had not approached Justice Ramkumar for getting his consent for the re-appointment or extension as ombudsman. Therefore, his claim that the KCA standing counsel had given a promise to extend his term was baseless.
The KCA has to spend crores of rupees for addressing four cases per year. Certainly, that may not be the intention of the Lodha Committee recommendations. Hence, KCA sought the consent of former High Court judge Justice K P Jyothindranath to be appointed as the ombudsman and it was conveyed to Justice Ramkumar.
The allegations of Ramkumar against the office-bearers of KCA were wrong. In fact, the new ombudsman had assumed office legally. The allegation that no decision was taken to appoint a new ombudsman was false.The affidavit also stated that Jayesh George was unanimously elected joint secretary of the BCCI due to his unblemished services to KCA and the field of cricket administration.