Supreme Court Postpones BCCI’s Constitution Amendment Plea Hearing To August 28

The Supreme Court on Thursday opted to adjourn the plea seeking the amendment of BCCI’s constitution until August 28 by passing an order for the appointment of new amicus curiae.

Amidst a great prominence for Thursday’s hearing, as any judgment would derive the future prospects of BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah’s continuation as office-bearers, the plea has once again received some relaxation with August 28 being the next hearing date.

Senior Advocate and former Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh has been appointed as amicus curiae in the case. The bench comprising of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli were hearing the plea.

As per the recommendations by retired Justice RM Lodha’s committee, the BCCI had halted to act to its Constitution which mandated a three-year “cooling off” period after serving six years as office-bearers in any state associations and/or BCCI office itself.

What is the “cooling-off” clause?

According to the BCCI constitution, “An office-bearer who has held any post for two consecutive terms either in a state association or in the BCCI (or a combination of both) shall not be eligible to contest any further election without completing a cooling-off period of three years.”

Considering the amount of time spent as office-bearers by Ganguly and Shah, the clause reiterates for them to step aside. Ganguly became the joint secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal in 2014. After becoming the state association president a year later, he became the BCCI’s chief in October 2019.

As per the constitution, Ganguly’s six-year term as an office-bearer ended in 2020. Meanwhile, Shah started his journey with BCCI in 2013 by receiving an appointment as an office-bearer of the Gujarat Cricket Association 2013. He moved to the BCCI as its secretary six years later.

Also, joint secretary Jayesh George, who has already completed six years in state associations and cricket board combined, will end their six-year term in August 2020. Going by the constitution, the current office-bearers need to vacate their posts for a mandatory lay-off before the next Annual General Meeting (AGM) is scheduled.