CoA asks for appointment of BCCI ombudsman and ethics officer

The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators has called for the immediate appointment of an ombudsman and ethics officer. Stating that the appointees will help sort out any disputes arising out of the elections to be held. In its 10th status report to the Supreme Court, the COA also stated as to why the appointments are important ahead of the Fresh elections.

“The newly registered constitution of BCCI requires the appointment of an Ombudsman at the Annual General Meeting for the purpose of providing an independent dispute resolution mechanism,” the COA report said.

“It is necessary that the first Ombudsman be appointed at the earliest so that the provisions relating to independent dispute resolution mechanism under the newly registered constitution can be implemented immediately. It is necessary that the first Ethics Officer of BCCI be appointed at the earliest so that the complaints related to Conflict of Interest can be considered and addressed by a duly qualified person.”

The eligibility and the terms of tenure for the appointment for the role of the ombudsman as stated by the CoA will be as follows- A retired judge or chief justice of a High Court must be given a one-year tenure, subject to a maximum of three terms.

As for the upcoming AGM and the much-awaited elections, the schedule is yet to be known. But the AGM will be conducted as per the August 9th orders of the Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court also ordered all the State associations to comply with its orders but some are yet to do so. For example, Haryana, Himachal, Gujarat, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Cricket Associations are yet to comply with the Supreme Court orders.