Clarity should eventually arise from the Supreme Court’s probing of the National Sports Governance Act by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The top court has asked the BCCI and the state bodies to justify their absence from the National Sports Governance Act of 2025.
On Tuesday, September 8, a bench consisting of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi, and V Mohana raised the issue during the hearing of petitions filed by several state associations.
According to Live Law, the court asked counsel for the BCCI and state cricket bodies to explain why the 2025 Act, which is now in existence, should not apply to their office bearers’ terms and conditions of service. It is expected that the BCCI attorneys would soon reveal their position.
Although BCCI representatives were not immediately accessible for comment, the board’s viewpoint is clear from its pleas in another matter. It has previously said that the BCCI is exempt from the National Sports Governance Act.
In a case concerning the election of the Odisha Cricket Association, the BCCI argued before the Odisha High Court that “even though the National Sports Governance Act 2025 has been enacted, the sport of cricket has not been notified as a designated sport for the National Sports Governance Act to apply.”
The affidavit did not go into detail about the BCCI’s opposition to the Sports Act. However, it has consistently claimed that the BCCI should not be subject to the Act because it does not receive government funding.
Furthermore, the Sports Act creates a statutory regulating agency and a recognition authority for national sports organisations. They might also be covered by the RTI Act. The BCCI has always fought this clause.
Otherwise, the BCCI follows the updated Lodha Committee guidelines, which were approved by the Supreme Court and allow an office-bearer to serve two consecutive terms before a three-year cooling-off period. The BCCI Annual General Meeting (AGM), which is scheduled for September 18 in Mumbai, would most likely include a discussion on the matter.
Dhumal presents a nomination.
It has been reported that Mizoram’s Khairul Jamal Majumdar and Himachal Pradesh’s Arun Singh Dhumal, the IPL chairman, have submitted nominations to the general body for IPL Governing Council positions. They will both be reelected to the council. The AGM will hold the election.
The Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) and the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) were both barred from attending the AGM by BCCI electoral officer AK Joti. The election officer’s ruling prohibits the two associations’ nominated representatives, Pranav Amin and Desh Rattan Dubey, from attending the AGM.
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