What the Supreme Court put forth on Thursday were not just mere proposals. They were warning the BCCI of the order they are going to pass in all likeliness on Friday and gave them a day’s time to respond. Renowned sports lawyer Rahul Mehra said there’s is little that the board or its chief N Srinivasan can do now.
“These are not just proposals. The Supreme Court has told what action they are going to take and has given the BCCI a day’s time to respond. The BCCI and Srinivasan, on their part, might try to delay the proceedings. The judge is retiring in June, so they might play all tricks of the trade like buy off the other petitioner or make an out of court settlement. But I don’t think they have a way out this time around as things have gone out of hand and the court is firm about taking an action,” Mehra said.
Vidushpat Singhania, the secretary of the Mudgal committee, said if the order is passed under Article 142 of the Indian Constitution, then everyone has to abide by it. “The Supreme Court has given three proposals to the BCCI and not passed an order yet. The order will likely be passed on Friday. If the court passes an order under Article 142, then there is no escaping law and everyone will have to abide by it,” Singhania said. Article 142 gives the Supreme Court absolute power to do complete justice in any cause or matter that is pending before it.
When asked about Srinivasan, Mehra said, “Let’s not take him seriously anymore. He is selfish, has no morals, an anti-national. He is only interested in his company India Cements Limited and himself. He has damaged the institution of cricket in India systematically and this time only God save him.”
He also felt that Sunil Gavaskar, as proposed by the court, was not the apt successor. “I don’t think Gavaskar is the right man to lead the BCCI. He is also mired in conflict of interest. There are many others who can take up this post like Bishen Singh Bedi, Kirti Azad, Mohinder Amarnath, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sourav Ganguly. They have no conflicts,” Mehra added.
On the court’s proposal to suspend CSK and RR, Mehra said, “It’s only mild handling right now. I will be surprised if the two teams are not terminated. The BCCI should now take action. They have been running this like a WWE event.”