Madras High Court to BCCI: File counter to CSK’s petition

Posting for September 23, further hearing of the case, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice T. S. Sivagnanam said, “At the request of senior counsel for BCCI and Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB), they are granted two weeks time to file a comprehensive counter which would include both the preliminary issues as well as the defence on merits. Rejoinder if any, be filed a week thereafter. We make it clear to the counsel for the parties that the schedule must be strictly adhered to.”

When the petition came up for hearing, senior counsel Dushyant Dave, appearing for CSK, submitted that the question of maintainability did not arise at all. “It is for me to satisfy the court. It is not for BCCI. Liberty is granted to me and not to the BCCI by the Supreme Court”. The problem was that the matter should not become infructuous as the BCCI meeting was scheduled to be held tomorrow. The committee has not found fault with the team, he added.

When senior counsel Nalini Chidambaram, appearing for CAB, pointed out that the petitioner had made serious allegations including non-application of mind against Justice Lodha Committee without making it a party to the petition, Dave said the allegation of bias had been made only against BCCI and not against the committee. Even this was made out as an institutional bias and not against any individual, he added. Senior counsel A. L. Somayaji, appearing for BCCI, submitted that Justice Lodha committee report was binding on BCCI. The committee’s report was accepted by the apex court and the decision of the committee has come into effect immediately, he pointed out.