BCCI poll should be acceptable to public: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that election of President for BCCI should be held in such a manner that it should be acceptable to the general public considering the importance of the Board.

This observation came from a bench headed by N Santosh Hegde, which was hearing a petition filed by the Board of Control for cricket in India (BCCI) challenging a Madras High Court order restraining the newly elected Board from functioning, and appointing Justice S Mohan as an interim administrator.

The Court had stayed the Madras High Court order allowing BCCI President Ranbir Singh Mahendra to resume function but had restrained former president Jagmohan Dalmiya from becoming the Patron-in-Chief.

BCCI counsel A M Singhvi argued that Board had committed no irregularities by preventing certain so-called representatives of the state cricket associations as their legally nominated representatives took part in the election held at Kolkata.

Referring to the controversy raised by C D Agashe of Maharashtra Cricket Association, who was not allowed to vote, the bench said "we have to take a holistic view, if we are satisfied that a particular person was prevented from voting at Kolkata then the question arises as to why was he allowed to vote by the Board in the Patron-in-chief election held earlier".

BCCI has to prove that in the election for the Board members at Kolkata everything was fair, the bench said.

Appearing for Maharashtra Cricket Association, counsel Shanti Bhushan said Aghashe had no right to represent MCA as S Deshmukh was its sole representative to participate in the election.