CUTTACK: The Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) president Pankaj Lochan Mohanty has taken a stand seemingly at variance with association secretary Sanjay Behera’s earlier affidavit on the issue of deferred elections, telling the Orissa High Court that the state body cannot deviate from BCCI rules.
In a counter affidavit filed in response to the court’s August 13 direction, Mohanty said there was no dispute that the tenure of all office-bearers of state cricket associations was three years under the Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), framed pursuant to Supreme Court directions.
The affidavit was placed before Justice MS Sahoo on Thursday. The matter has been posted for final hearing on September 22. The affidavit was in reply to the petition filed by Lalitendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra, claiming to represent Cuttack-based Sunrise Club, challenging the postponement of the OCA elections, which were due in October 2025.
The last full OCA elections were held in October 2022. Following Pranab Prakash Das’ resignation as president, Mohanty was elected unopposed in February 2025.
Mohanty’s stand is significant as Behera, in an earlier affidavit, had defended the decision to defer the OCA elections, saying the general body had decided to examine the impact of the National Sports Governance Act, 2025.
Behera had also cited cricket’s inclusion as an Olympic sport ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games and a December 22, 2025 Union Sports Ministry notification providing for deferment of elections of National Sports Federations till December 31, 2026 as a transitional measure. Accordingly, on February 22, OCA had resolved that the existing office-bearers would continue.
Mohanty, however, said the OCA had acted under a “misconception” that cricket was a “designated sport” under the new legislation. He said there was also uncertainty over whether the BCCI came within the Act’s ambit. The position changed after the BCCI filed its response, Mohanty said.
The BCCI clarified that cricket had not been notified as a designated sport under the Act and that the BCCI itself was not subject to its provisions. “Odisha Cricket Association follows the Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations of BCCI and is a permanent affiliated body of BCCI. Hence, the Odisha Cricket Association cannot take a different stand contrary to the stand taken by the BCCI,” Mohanty stated.
He said any deviation could put the OCA’s membership and grants from the BCCI at risk.
