The Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea seeking to stay the elections in cricketing body DDCA, saying it saw no reason to interject the poll process which was set in motion in May and culminating with the polls on June 30.
A vacation bench of Justices Vinod Goel and Rekha Palli said it found no merit in the petition moved by a member of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) for putting the election on hold till finalisation of the constitution of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by the Supreme Court.
"Having considered the rival submissions of the parties, we see no reason at all to interject the election process which has already been set into motion pursuant to a notice of May 14, 2018 and which course of action, has already been approved by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA)," the bench said in its order which was uploaded on the high court website today.
The court had yesterday made its mind clear that there cannot be a stay on the elections in the DDCA as the poll process has already started.
The bench also noted in its order that the CoA had on May 21 requested the administrators of state cricketing bodies to remain in charge of the affairs until the new BCCI constitution was finalised.
"In these circumstances, we see no prejudice which would be caused to the petitioner by holding of the election which process has already been set into motion," the court said.
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The bench also said that petitioner Ravi Mehra ought to have come earlier to the court, as the notice for holding the election was issued on May 14.
The plea was opposed by DDCA's court-appointed administrator, former Supreme Court judge Vikramajit Sen, who was represented by advocates Saket Sikri and Pradeep Chhindra.
The high court on March 23 had asked the administrator to hold the elections within eight weeks. The date was later extended to June 30. It had then also dismissed objections raised by members of the controversy-ridden DDCA against the amendments like abolition of proxy voting.
The proposed amendments also include making players' representatives and women a part of its governing body, laying down eligibility conditions for being appointed as an office-bearer or director and affiliated clubs being required to provide details of disbursement of funds provided by DDCA and submit accounts to it.
In the elections to be held on June 30 to select the cricketing body's executive committee, former India Test player and Delhi legend Madan Lal Sharma, noted journalist Rajat Sharma and senior advocate Vikas Singh are vying for the post of President.
Pushpendra Chauhan, the younger brother of former India Test opener Chetan Chauhan, is contesting for the post of joint secretary, while Rajan Manchanda, younger brother of former treasurer Ravinder Manchanda, is also a contender for the same post.
The DDCA administrator was appointed during the hearing of a 2010 petition of the cricketing body seeking occupancy certificate from South Delhi Municipal Corporation to hold matches at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.
The DDCA is yet to obtain a final structural stability certificate for its Feroz Shah Kotla stadium's old club house, also known as R P Mehra block.
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