BCCI AGM may be deferred

The adjourned Annual General Meeting of Board for Control of Cricket in India, which is to be reconvened on October 26, is likely to be postponed in view the special leave petition in the Supreme Court which comes up for hearing on the same day.

A division bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice Santosh Hegde and Justice S B Sinha, on Monday stayed an interim order of the Chennai high court restraining the BCCI's newly-elected office-bearers from discharging their duties and fixed October 26 for the next hearing.

The office-bearers were elected at the Board's AGM in Kolkata on September 29, but deliberations could not be completed because of an order passed by a civil court in Channai on a petition filed by Netaji Cricket Club challenging the appointment of Jamohan Dalmiya as patron-in-chief of the BCCI.

Two points on the agenda, relating to the confirmation of the minutes of the Board's Special General Meeting (SGM) on September 12 and representation of the BCCI at the International Cricket Council, Asian Cricket Council and other international bodies, could not be taken up at the AGM in view of the stay by the Chennai court.

The BCCI's president-elect Ranbir Singh Mahendra and secretary S K Nair refused to comment on the Supreme Court's verdict on the plea that the matter is subjudice.

"Jagmohan Dalmiya will continue to remain the president of the BCCI till the Annual General Meeting is completed under rule 20 of the BCCI act," U N Banerjee, legal advisor to the Board, told rediff.com on Monday. He also clarified that the office-bearers of the previous management will continue to discharge their duties till the new office-bearers take over.

Ms S Radhaswamy, counsel for BCCI, had filed the special leave petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the appointment of retired Justice S Mohan as interim administrator by the division bench of the Chennai high court.

S Gopalaswamy, senior Supreme Court advocate, appeared for Ranbir Singh Mahendra while Abhishek Singhvi represented the BCCI. Fali Nariman represented Dyaneshwar C Agashe of the Maharashtra Cricket Association while Harish Salve appeared for Netaji Cricket Club.

Salve pressed for fresh elections of the BCCI office-bearers but the judges did not accede to the demand.

Nariman argued that Jagmohan Dalmiya had erred in judgment while disallowing Agashe from casting his vote.

 "We told the court that we had not erred. We had gone by the order of the Mumbai high court which was against Agashe," Banerjee explained.

"We had given an undertaking to the Chennai high court that nobody would be disallowed from contesting for the post of president of BCCI even if he does not come from that particular zone in case he is nominated by one of the cricket associations from that region. Since Agashe did not contest for president's post this undertaking was not binding," he added.