The Board of Control for Cricket in India's decision to form an ad-hoc body in Rajasthan Cricket Association to ensure the state's participation in domestic tournaments may lead to more legal tangles as the Lalit Modi faction in the RCA is planning to move the court against the BCCI.
Rajendra Singh Nandu, the secretary of the Nagaur District Cricket Association (which has Lalit Modi as president), said that the BCCI's decision to form an ad-hoc body in RCA is akin to contempt of court.
Under the provisions of Sports Act, the sole right to form an ad-hoc body in a state association is with the Registrar of the Cooperative Society and perhaps because of this fact, BCCI had dropped the idea in the previous season despite going through the exercise.
"Perhaps BCCI is trying to take advantage of the deadlock between the two warring factions which has resulted in the RCA office being sealed by a court order and players being allowed to participate in the domestic cricket as 'Team Rajasthan' in the previous season," Nandu said.
"The BCCI should not forget that Rajasthan is governed by Sports Act prevailing in state and former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi was elected as RCA president in the elections with sanctity of the apex court in country. The BCCI also tried to thwart Modi but the high court had cleared him to fight the RCA election in the light of the Sports Act," he added.
The BCCI had suspended RCA soon after their elections when Modi was elected as the president. Later with the alleged backing of some BCCI officials Amin Pathan had removed Lalit Modi from the RCA president's post through a No Confidence Motion but his claim is still being challenged in court.
"They are again making the same mistake because the Sports Act still exists and we are still the elected body of the RCA. Our legal counsel Sudip Hora is already in London and has discussed the BCCI move with Lalit Modi. I believe that we would soon move the court against BCCI," said Nandu.
Apart from this, the players have too filed applications in the high court, one at Jodhpur and one at Jaipur, to pave way for their participation in the coming domestic season.
The Rajasthan Bench in the previous season had appointed selectors and a coordinator ordering the participation of players of state as Team Rajasthan and the cricketers are hoping that court would continue with the same arrangement.
But with BCCI forming an dd-hoc body in RCA things might get complicated because the premises has been sealed and no facilities are available. In the light of the Sports Act, the RCA's Modi faction would also challenge the ad-hoc body and its powers to run the state cricket.
Nandu was instrumental in enabling a piece of land in Nagaur which proved Modi as a resident and climb the ladder through RCA to becoming the BCCI vice-president and eventually being appointed as the commissioner of the cash-rich IPL.
Image: Lalit Modi
