Times of India: New Delhi: Tuesday, October 02,
2018.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) is covered under the RTI Act and answerable to the people of the country
under its mechanism, the Central Information Commission ruled on Monday.
The commission, the top appellate body in
RTI matters, went through the law, orders of the Supreme Court, the Law
Commission of India report, submissions of the Central Public Information
Officer in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to conclude that the
status, nature and functional characteristics of the BCCI fulfil required
conditions of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.
Section 2(h) of the Act defines criteria
under which a body can be declared as public authority under the RTI Act.
"The SC has also reaffirmed that the
BCCI is the 'approved' national-level body holding virtually monopoly rights to
organize cricketing events in the country," Information Commissioner
Sridhar Acharyulu said in a 37-page long order.
He directed the president, secretary and
Committee of Administrators to designate deserving officers as central public
information officers, central assistant public information officers and first
appellate authorities as required under the law.
Acharyulu also directed the BCCI to put
in place, within 15 days, online and offline mechanisms to receive applications
for information under the RTI Act.
The matter came up before him as the
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports did not give a satisfactory response to an
RTI applicant, Geeta Rani, who had sought to know the provisions and guidelines
under which the BCCI has been representing India and selecting players for the
national team.
Through the 12-pointer RTI application,
she also asked whether the players selected by the BCCI are playing for India
or for the association, how can a private body represent the country
internationally, how's the government benefiting from giving rights and
authority to the BCCI to represent the country in international tournaments
among others.
The ministry claimed it has no
information available and the plea could not be transferred to the BCCI as the
cricket board has not been declared a public authority under the RTI Act.
The BCCI Monday sought more time for
submission but Acharyulu rejected the demand, saying the cricketing body,
having received notices from the CIC, neither appeared on dates of hearing nor
gave any written submission.
"The BCCI should be listed as an NSF
(national sports federation) covered under the RTI Act. The RTI Act should be
made applicable to the BCCI along with its entire constituent member cricketing
associations, provided they fulfil the criteria applicable to the BCCI, as
discussed in the Law Commission's report," he said.
The commissioner directed the BCCI to
provide point-wise information sought by the appellant in this case, within 10
days from the date of receipt of the order.
"The BCCI should have been held
accountable under all circumstances for any violations of basic human rights of
the stake holders. As on today, there is no mechanism to question such
violations, except filing a general writ petition in constitutional
courts," he said.
Citing the Law Commission report, he said
it not only affirmatively recognised the economic ("monopoly") nature
of the BCCI acting as a sports federation for cricket but also outlined the
power and ability of such a body to impact the human rights of athletes and
potential athletes.
Acharyulu said previously, most attempts
at legal analysis have primarily relied on whether the body is funded by the
state and/or uses state insignia and names.
He said while state funding is indeed one
of the elements in determining whether a non-government organisation is a
"public authority", the economic and human rights impact of the
body's powers are dominant themes of the report and its recommendations.
"This represents a broader and more
contemporary view of the jurisprudence backing the application of public laws
to prima facie 'private' bodies in sport," he said.
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