DDCA 'badly needs' complete overhaul of reforms, observes Delhi High Court

Reforms are 'badly needed' in the governance and functioning of DDCA, the Delhi High Court has said while passing a slew of directions on the lines of the Supreme Court which has put in place several parameters for the administration and running of the apex cricket body BCCI.

The high court has taken into account the Justice R M Lodha Committee recommendations, which were accepted by the apex court, disallowing proxy voting in elections of the body and setting a ceiling of 70 years on the age of the executive members apart from a cap of nine years on cumulative tenure and introduction of cooling of period between two terms in office.

Like the appointment of a representative of CAG in BCCI, made mandatory by the top court, the high court also favoured such measures in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), which allegedly has been plagued by corruption and financial irregularities.

The January 30 judgement passed by a high court bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Deepa Sharma and made public on Saturday, has shot down DDCA's objections, saying "objectionsto the reforms in its governance and various aspects of functioning cannot be countenanced" and since it had taken benefits of favourable orders earlier, it cannot now say that the court has exceeded its jurisdiction.

"As far as the recommendations go, it hardly needs to be emphasised that reforms are badly needed. There appears to be no stability in certain key governance issues or even discernible norms in regard to activities such as accounts and finance, procurement through tendering, a stable selection policy for selectors and players, the terms and conditions applicable to them, etc," the bench also said.

The recommendations were made by Justice Mukul Mudgal, who was appointed by the high court to oversee functioning of DDCA and conduct of matches at the Ferozshah Kotla stadium in New Delhi after allegations of irregularities were made against the cricketing body. Since Mudgal, retired Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, has preferred to opt out after expiry of his tenure citing personal reasons, the Delhi High Court has appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice Vikramajit Sento take over his responsibilities. \

The court, in its 49-page judgement, has also directed DDCA to amend its Articles of Association to incorporate the recommendations made by Justice Mudgal. It also said the newly appointed administrator shall appoint an external auditor to audit DDCA's accounts for 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 and submit a report within three months.

The directions came on DDCA's petition against property tax demanded by the municipal corporation from 2010 onwards with regard to the stadium and also seeking clearances to hold matches there.