Supreme Court Allows Amendment Of BCCI Constitution; Cooling Off Period Only After Two Consecutive Terms At BCCI Or State Association For Respective Levels

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the BCCI to amend its Constitution pertaining to cooling-off period for its office bearers, clearing the way for extension of the terms of BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah till 2025. Both Ganguly and Shah's first terms in the cricket board were set to expire due to the "cooling-off period" clause in the BCCI constitution.

• In its petition, the BCCI had sought the abolition of a cooling-off period for its office bearers. This would enable Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah to continue as BCCI president and secretary respectively despite them having completed six years at respective state cricket associations.
• The constitution of the BCCI stipulates a mandatory three-year cooling-off period for anyone who had served two consecutive terms of three years each in the state cricket association or the BCCI.
• On Tuesday, the Supreme Court observed that BCCI was an autonomous body and it cannot micro-manage its functioning
• A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli said office bearers could have a continuous tenure of 12 years, which includes six years in State Association and six years in BCCI before the cooling-off period of three years comes into play, PTI reported.

"We are of the considered view that the amendment would not dilute the original objective. We accept the proposed amendment," the court said.

• Further to which the apex court said that an office bearer could serve on a particular post for two consecutive terms, both at the BCCI and the State Association level, after which there would be a cooling-off period of three years.