New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a petition from Cricket Association of Bihar to prevent BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur from contesting for the BCCI president’s post on May 22 following the resignation of Shashank Manohar.
A vacation bench of Justices A.M. Sapre and Ashok Bhushan told counsel for CAB that since a bench headed by Chief Justice T.S. Thakur is already hearing the BCCI case, the present petition can also be heard by the same bench and not by a vacation bench.
The application filed by the CAB through its secretary, Aditya Verma, claimed that Thakur was ineligible to contest the post of president in terms of the Justice R.M. Lodha panel recommendations that persons facing criminal cases should not be allowed to hold any post in the board.
The CAB has alleged that Thakur was facing two criminal cases relating to alleged embezzlement of funds in the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association.
The CAB has contended that it was improper on the part of the BCCI to proceed with the election of the president when a dispute relating to the implementation of the Lodha panel recommendations is under judicial scrutiny as the board and various State associations have challenged the recommendations.
While pleading for a direction to the BCCI not to conduct the election during the pendency of the matter in the apex court, the CAB has urged that in the alternative the board be directed not to permit any person who is charged under a penal to contest the post of president or any other post. It wanted a direction that the vice-president of BCCI should assume charge as president.
