Supreme Court against CAG scrutiny of BCCI accounts

NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Monday dismissed a petition seeking thorough scrutiny of the accounts of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the past 10 years by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

During the hearing, a bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice Swatanter Kumar asked counsel Manjusha Wadhwa, appearing for petitioner Alok Varshney, if the accounts of the BCCI were not being audited as per the provisions of The Companies Act.

The court rejected the plea when Wadhwa said the accounts should be audited by the CAG for the transparent functioning of the cricket body.

The petitioner sought an inquiry into the financial matters of the cricket body saying that the malpractices started when the BCCI gave the international telecast rights of the India team’s matches for a huge amount.

He also sought the resignation of all MPs and legislators who were associated with the BCCI in some way or the other. The petitioner said that this was necessary to facilitate fair investigation into the affairs of the cricket’s apex body.

The petitioner said that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which looked into match-fixing and betting in 2003, had suggested investigations into the involvement of betting mafias with the BCCI.

Besides this, the petitioner suggested that the game should be managed by “reputed and responsible” ex-cricketers in a transparent and professional manner that was beyond the shadow of political influences.

The petitioner also pleaded for enactment of legislation to curb match-fixing.

The court, however, dismissed all the pleas without assigning any reasons.