Mid-Day: New Delhi: Thursday, June 28, 2018.
The Delhi
High Court has dismissed a plea seeking to stay the elections in cricketing
body DDCA, saying it saw no reason to interject the poll process which was set
in motion in May and culminating with the polls on June 30. A vacation bench of
Justices Vinod Goel and Rekha Palli said it found no merit in the petition
moved by a member of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) for
putting the election on hold till finalisation of the constitution of the Board
of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by the Supreme Court.
"Having
considered the rival submissions of the parties, we see no reason at all to
interject the election process which has already been set into motion pursuant
to a notice of May 14, 2018 and which course of action, has already been
approved by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators
(CoA)," the bench said in its order which was uploaded on the high court
website today. The court had yesterday made its mind clear that there cannot be
a stay on the elections in the DDCA as the poll process has already started.
The bench
also noted in its order that the CoA had on May 21 requested the administrators
of state cricketing bodies to remain in charge of the affairs until the new
BCCI constitution was finalised. "In these circumstances, we see no
prejudice which would be caused to the petitioner by holding of the election
which process has already been set into motion," the court said. The bench
also said that petitioner Ravi Mehra ought to have come earlier to the court,
as the notice for holding the election was issued on May 14.
The plea was
opposed by DDCA's court-appointed administrator, former Supreme Court judge
Vikramajit Sen, who was represented by advocates Saket Sikri and Pradeep
Chhindra. The high court on March 23 had asked the administrator to hold the
elections within eight weeks. The date was later extended to June 30. It had
then also dismissed objections raised by members of the controversy-ridden DDCA
against the amendments like abolition of proxy voting. The proposed amendments
also include making players' representatives and women a part of its governing
body, laying down eligibility conditions for being appointed as an
office-bearer or director and affiliated clubs being required to provide
details of disbursement of funds provided by DDCA and submit accounts to it.
In the
elections to be held on June 30 to select the cricketing body's executive committee,
former India Test player and Delhi legend Madan Lal Sharma, noted journalist
Rajat Sharma and senior advocate Vikas Singh are vying for the post of
President. Pushpendra Chauhan, the younger brother of former India Test opener
Chetan Chauhan, is contesting for the post of joint secretary, while Rajan
Manchanda, younger brother of former treasurer Ravinder Manchanda, is also a
contender for the same post.
The DDCA
administrator was appointed during the hearing of a 2010 petition of the
cricketing body seeking occupancy certificate from South Delhi Municipal
Corporation to hold matches at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground. The DDCA is yet to
obtain a final structural stability certificate for its Feroz Shah Kotla
stadium's old club house, also known as R P Mehra block.
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