BCCI state bodies look at SC with hope, hearing on Thursday

New Delhi, April 24 (IANS) With numerous interim applications pending before the Supreme Court, amicus curiae P.S. Narasimha met officials from the state cricket bodies along with the three Committee of Administrators (CoA) members on Wednesday to discuss the objections of the state associations to certain proposals of the Lodha panel.

The amicus curiae will file a complete report on the same as the SC bench of Justices S.A. Bobde and A.M. Sapre will meet to discuss the BCCI matter on Thursday.

Speaking to IANS, a senior state official said that the meeting with Narasimha went well and the whole idea was to ensure that the genuine issues faced by the state associations were paid heed to and a solution was reached.

"Today the amicus met a number of state associations along with the CoA to try and arrive at a solution to the applications filed by the associations in the SC. It was felt that over a period of time, the CoA had gathered a lot of acrimony vis-a-vis the state cricket associations and that had resulted in not only a deadlock, but also the inclusion of certain restrictions with regard to administration of cricket," the official said.

Another official hailed the efforts of Narasimha and said that such a step by the previous amicus could have helped solve issues much earlier.

"This meeting is also a welcome attempt by the amicus even though one isn't really aware as to how much ground can be covered at this late stage. If this approach had been adopted by the previous amicus, some real headway could have been made and issues could have been resolved amicably. But that period resulted in heightened acrimony in the court," he explained.

Another senior state association official said that while the amicus looked at the basic areas that needed amendment, the more serious issues will be addressed by the court, including those which affect the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India.

"There are issues that relate to the registration of the new constitution by the CoA which is not in consonance with the spirit of the order of the Supreme Court. The issue with regard to the tenure of members have been turned from 9 + 9 to just nine and then, the powers of the office bearers have been done away with in the constitution even though they weren't directed to do so specifically by the court," the official explained.

It would be interesting to see if the court takes note of the recommendations of the amicus curiae after his meeting with the state associations on Thursday and then set the next date to listen to the larger issues facing the state bodies and the BCCI.