“Large scale reforms” for the DDCA; Justice Vikramajit Sen appointed cricket body’s admin [Read judgment]

The Delhi High Court today appointed Justice (Retd.) Vikramajit Sen as the new external administrator of the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA)..He replaces Justice (Retd.) Mukul Mudgal, former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court. Justice Sen has been appointed for 1 lakh per working day under the same terms as in the case of the Mudgal Committee..The Division Bench of S Ravindra Bhat and Deepa Sharma, JJ. pronounced the verdict on the six-year-old controversy surrounding the functioning of the cricket body and holding of cricket matches at the capital’s Ferozshah Kotla Stadium..DDCA was represented by Senior Advocate Aman Lekhi along with Standing Counsel Gautam Datta. The government of NCT was represented by Rahul Mehra; Nitin Mishra and Arunabh Ganguli argued on behalf of Justice Mudgal..The bench issued several directions including directing Justice Sen to call for an immediate meeting to amend the Articles of Association of DDCA to include the age and tenure clause along with the reconstitution of the Sports Committee. For this reconstitution, the Mudgal Committee recommendations were accepted. The bench stated,.“The Mudgal Committee had recommended that the sports committee shall comprise of 10 members, i.e the following: .1. 5 retired men or women international or national cricketers of credible repute (the names proposed should be approved by the BCCI) .2. 2 members elected by Affiliated Clubs .3. 2 members of Institutional Clubs .4. 1 senior coach (the name proposed should be approved by the BCCI) .There shall accordingly, be an appropriate amendment to Article 23 of the DDCA’s Articles of Association to bring it in line with the above recommendation.” .The bench also directed the DDCA to submit its accounts for the financial years of 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 for audit by an external auditor. Further, the bench directed the induction of a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the board of DDCA to oversee the functioning of the cricket body. In this regard the bench directed,.“The Administrator shall appoint an external auditor who shall audit DDCA’s accounts for the period 2012-13; 2013-14 and 2014-15 and submit a report within three months after such appointment. The administrator shall fix the fee to be paid to the auditor having regard to the prevailing fee for such services; it shall be borne by the DDCA.”.Rejoicing the judgment, the DDCA counsel stated that these “large scale reforms could go a long way in regulating cricket in India”..The bench had reserved the order in September last year after hearing detailed arguments regarding the problems arising in the day-to-day functioning of the cricket body..Read the full judgment below.