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Stay on BCCI elections refused

Justice Ajit Shah of the Bombay High Court declined to grant ad-interim relief in a suit filed by the Punjab Cricket Association against the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and postponed the matter to October 26.

The PCA had filed a suit against the BCCI urging for a direction to restrain the latter from conducting its affairs or functions in any manner. It also urged the court to restrain the newly-elected BCCI president, A C Muthiah, and his colleagues from discharging their functions. The PCA also questioned the BCCI's move to award the contract for television rights for international matches to Doordarshan.

The PCA had filed the petition challenging the working of the recent BCCI annual general meeting, which Hyderabad Cricket Association secretary Ranga Reddy was not permitted to attend. The BCCI explained that the Jaipur court order, restraining the Hyderabad Cricket Association president from voting, and picking the office-bearers, was received too late.

Counsel for the defendants, Iqbal Chagla and Goolam Vahanvati, pointed out that PCA president I. S. Bindra, who is also a member of the working committee, had supported the decision to award the contract to Doordarshan during the working committee meeting held on August 20, in Mumbai.

PCA counsel V Dhond, however, submitted that although his client had raised the matter in the suit, he was at this stage not disputing the award of the contract.

Dhananjay Chandrachud, counsel for Prasar Bharati, stated that although a decision to grant television rights had been taken, a formal contract will be entered into by the two parties and nothing will be hidden from the court.

Raj Singh Dungarpur, former president of the BCCI filed an affidavit urging the court to dismiss the suit, due to the fact that the PCA had allegedly suppressed facts and made false statements therein.

Dungarpur said in his affidavit that the PCA suit was an abuse of the legal process and the plaintiffs had approached the court allegedly with unclean hands on a false case.

Dungarpur further stated that allegations about the BCCI not allowing the secretary of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, Ranga Reddy, to vote at the recent BCCI presidential elections are not correct. Moreover, Reddy has not been made party to the suit, he added.

Dungarpur stated that the proceedings of the BCCI's AGM indicated that majority of the members favoured the election of the office-bearers, and 25 of the 31 members supported his conduct as the chairman of the meeting.

Dungarpur also said in his affidavit that the plaintiffs had wrongly stated in the suit that the proposer and seconder for the post of president should be from the same zone. There is no such provision in the BCCI rules and regulations, he said.

He said, at the AGM, held on September 21, a controversy during the presidential elections arose over who - Ranga Reddy (secretary) or G P Surana (president) -- should represent the Hyderabad Cricket Association. Although Surana mentioned about a suit filed by him in Hyderabad, Reddy did not talk about any suit filled by him in the Jaipur court.

Dungarpur said he had sought legal advice and asked both to cast their votes and keep it in a sealed cover until such time the litigation was resolved. It was also decided that he too would put his casting vote in a sealed cover in case of equality of votes. But Reddy objected to his ruling, he said..

Dungarpur further said that during the AGM, majority members insisted on taking up the election item on the agenda out of turn and he had given a ruling in their favour.

UNI