SC Okays BCCI Amended Constitution, Ganguly, Jay Shah Can Get 2nd Term

The Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted suggestions proposed by the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) and relaxed the cooling-off period, clearing the decks for Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah to seek another term in office after October 2022.

As per the new proposed changes, the cooling-off period at BCCI or the state level will now kick in after two terms or six years as opposed to the initial period of three years. The Supreme Court added that this cooling-off period will apply only at that particular level – be it state associations or the BCCI.

This means, that an individual may directly contest elections at the BCCI if he completes two terms at the state level, giving him another six years (maximum) at that level.

"A cooling-off period of three years after just one term of three years in office is really too stringent. People should be allowed to get acquainted (with their tasks)…," Justice DY Chandrachud had orally remarked.

According to the constitution proposed by the Justice Lodha Committee—which was accepted by the Supreme Court in 2018 and adopted by the BCCI at their annual general meeting a year later in 2019—an individual was mandated to a cooling-off period after completing two terms at the state level, the BCCI or in a combination of the two.

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One term is a very short time, it is not enough: SC

The bench comprising Justices Chandrachud and Hima Kohli were hearing a plea filed by the BCCI seeking to modify its constitution.

The bench had observed that confining an individual to just one term was too stringent. Drawing parallels, the bench said even the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) don't have a cooling off after one term, "because it is too short a period".

"Cooling off is so that you don't form a clique or have vested interests," Justice Chandrachud observed.

"Indian cricket is successful not because of judicial review but because of its administration," he added.