Supreme Court appoints senior advocate Maninder Singh as amicus curiae in BCCI case
Supreme Court of India
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday appointed senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh as amicus curiae in the case relating to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
A bench, headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, noted that the earlier amicus curiae, senior advocate PS Narasimha is not available any more, as he has been elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court.
The bench said: "We have to hear the amicus also, now he is not available anymore... will appoint a new one". The bench appointed senior advocate Maninder Singh as the new amicus curiae and scheduled the matter for further hearing on July 28.
On July 15, the BCCI moved the Supreme Court seeking urgent hearing on a plea seeking approval to amend the rules of the board's constitution.
Senior advocate P.S. Patwalia mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ramana and comprising Justice Krishna Murari. Patwalia submitted before the bench that the matter has been pending for two years and urged the court to consider it urgently, as the approval of amendments is necessary. He added that amendments are in the pipeline after judgment and they are pending.
The Chief Justice said: "We will see if it can be listed next week."
In April last year, the top court had adjourned BCCI's plea after the amicus curiae in the matter, senior advocate Narasimha had sought some time to compile the submissions of the counsel involved in the matter. The BCCI had drawn up its Constitution, based on the recommendations by retired Justice R.M. Lodha's committee, mandating a three-year cooling off, after six years in the position for an office bearer: either at the state level or the BCCI.
The tenure of Sourav Ganguly as BCCI President and BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, will end in September 2022. Currently, their tenure is technically under extension since the apex court has not conducted a hearing on the plea for amendment of the rules.
The general body of the BCCI, during the AGM in December 2019, proposed six amendments, including one in Rule 6 of the Constitution, which had barred BCCI and state board office bearers from holding office for more than 6 consecutive years.