In a major blow to the Board of Cricket Control of India, the Supreme Court on Monday ordered the removal of Anurag Thakur from the post of President of the cricket administration body for lying under oath during a hearing on recommendations of the Lodha committee.
The apex court also ordered the removal of Ajay Shirke from the post of BCCI Secretary.
SC in its order said that as per July 18, 2016, these (Anurag Thakur & Ajay Shirke) two officials did not comply with its order and thereby been removed.
A bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said that as an interim arrangement, the senior-most Vice President of the BCCI will act as the President and the Joint Secretary will act as the Secretary.
The court asked amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium and eminent lawyer Fali Nariman to suggest the names that will be in the committee to be headed by an administrator to oversee the Board's functioning.
The Court has set January 19 for the next hearing when names of the interim BCCI board will be announced.
While pronouncing its order, the SC also said that the BCCI and state board officials failed to implement its orders to bring transparency and accountability in the cricket body.
SC further appointed Fali Nariman and senior SC lawyer Gopal Subramanium as Amicus Curiae to assist in nominating persons of impeccable integrity as members of committee of administrators who will look after the affairs of the BCCI.
Meanwhile, the SC also sought a reply from Anurag Thakur on why prosecution should not be initiated against him in this regard.
Earlier in December, the SC had accused Thakur of lying under oath and threatened to press perjury charges against him.
The BCCI has been engaged in a lengthy tussle with the Justice RM Lodha Panel which has issued guidelines on age tenure, conflict of interest, one-state-one-vote and other recommendations. The panel has requested the BCCI to implement these reforms immediately.
Thakur has been accused of lying about seeking a letter from the International Cricket Council to assert that one of the Lodha panel recommendations on cricket reforms amounted to governmental interference.
Both Thakur and Shirke have maintained that a majority of the state units are opposed to the key changes spelt out by the panel like one man, one post, one state, one vote and a 70-year age restriction for holding office.
Justice RM Lodha panel has put forward the name of former union home secretary GK Pillai, along with the likes of former India all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath and former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai to oversee the BCCI administration, as it wants the current office-bearers to be removed for not implementing its recommendations in full.
