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The BCCI’s president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah can now stay in their positions without having to complete the required cooling-off period, thanks to a revision of the BCCI’s constitution that the Supreme Court approved on Wednesday.
An office bearer may have a continuous tenure of 12 years, which includes six years in the State Association and six years in the BCCI, before the cooling-off period of three years kicks in, according to a bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli.
An office bearer may hold a given position for two consecutive terms, at both the BCCI and State Association levels, before having to serve a three-year cooling-off period.
“The purpose of the cooling-off period is not to create undesirable monopolies”, the bench said.
The bench stated, “The purpose of the cooling-off period is not to establish unfavourable monopolies.”
The top court’s decision was based on the Board’s request to change the constitution in relation to the terms of its office bearers, including President Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Jay Shah, by eliminating the BCCI’s and state cricket organisations’ required cooling-off periods.
The BCCI has asked for the elimination of a cooling-off period for its office holders in its proposed amendment, which would allow Ganguly and Shah to continue in their roles as president and secretary despite having served six years at their respective state cricket bodies.
Earlier, the top court accepted the BCCI reform recommendations made by the committee headed by Justice R. M. Lodha.
Anyone who has served two consecutive terms of three years in the state cricket association or the BCCI is required to serve a three-year cooling-off period under the BCCI constitution, which was previously approved by the top court.
Shah had previously worked for the Gujarat Cricket Association, whereas Ganguly was an office bearer in the Cricket Association of Bengal.
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