Swarna Shukla –
Published On: October 22, 2021 at 10:30 IST
The Supreme Court expressed disapproval of the functioning of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), headed by the former Indian Cricket Team Captain Mohd Azharuddin, and the appointment of a former Supreme Court Judge as the Ombudsman.
The Bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli orally observed that the Court would appoint some retired Judges of the Supreme Court to enquire into the issue.
The Bench observed that the former Supreme Court Judge Deepak Mishra was asked not to pass any orders as the Ombudsman and Ethics Officer since his tenure had come to an end.
The Chief Justice stated, “Cricket has gone somewhere else and politics has taken precedence. Let both the groups (of HCA) go. They will have to go out of the management. This needs a CBI inquiry. They want to drag even the judiciary.”
The Top Court was hearing two Special Leave Petitions filed by Hyderabad Cricket Association and Budding Star Cricket Club against the Telangana High Court which set aside an Order of Hyderabad Civil Court to suspend the decision of the Apex Council of the HCA to appoint Justice Verma as Ombudsman-Ethics Officer of the HCA.
The High Court stated that there was a collision between the Budding Star Cricket association and the HCA Secretary.
According to the Budding Star Cricket Association, HCA initiated the appointment of former Judge Justice Deepak Mishra and scheduled a general body meeting, but no such meeting took place, according to the Budding Star Cricket Association.
Instead of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the meeting didn’t take place, and eventually, in the meeting of the Apex Council, a decision was taken for the appointment of the Ombudsman and Ethics Officer.
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