BCCI president Sourav Ganguly’s term extended by 3 years after SC order

BCCI’s proposed change in its constitution was accepted by Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 14). This decision by SC has cleared the way for BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and BCCI secretary Jay Shah among other office bearers to extend their term. The SC has allowed the BCCI to make amendments to the constitution which will eventually allow an extended tenure of 3 years to the president and secretary. Ganguly and Shah’s term had come to an end last month. 

“It has been submitted that this provision should be modified to reflect that it comes into effect after an office bearer has completed 2 consecutive terms. In other words, BCCI and State association office bearers would have to complete cooling off periods only,” said the court order. 

The court also ordered that in the days to come, now a BCCI administrator will have to take a cooling off period only after 2 consecutive terms (which will be of 3 years each), be it a state association or in the BCCI.

“The purpose of the cooling-off period is not to create undesirable monopolies”, the bench said.

The top court’s order came on the Board’s plea seeking to amend its constitution concerning the tenure of its office bearers including its President Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Jay Shah by doing away with the mandatory cooling-off period between tenures of office bearers across state cricket associations and the BCCI.

The BCCI, in its proposed amendment, has sought the abolition of a cooling-off period for its office bearers which would enable Ganguly and Shah to continue in office as President and Secretary despite them having completed six years at respective state cricket associations.

Earlier, the Justice R M Lodha-led committee had recommended reforms in the BCCI which have been accepted by the top court.

The constitution of the BCCI, which was earlier approved by the top court, stipulates a mandatory three-year cooling-off period for anyone who had served two consecutive terms of three years each in the state cricket association or the BCCI.

While Ganguly was an office bearer in the Cricket Association of Bengal, Shah had served in the Gujarat Cricket Association.

With PTI inputs