New Delhi, April 30 (IANS) The Supreme Court Wednesday directed the results of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections, which were held December 19, should be declared by May 6.
Amidst the allegation of the fudging of the voters list, the elections were held under the supervision of former apex court judges Justice N.M. Kasliwal and Justice S.P. Pathak, who were appointed observers by the Supreme Court.
The elections had become contentious since former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi, who is living in self-exile in London, is expected to win the ballot for the post of RCA president by a handsome margin.
An apex court bench of Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh directed the registry to send the results in a sealed cover back to Kasliwal, the principal observer for the elections, for release.
The court also said that anyone, including the BCCI, if aggrieved at the outcome of the elections, could challenge this before the appropriate authority.
Earlier, senior counsel C.A. Sundaram appearing for the BCCI told the court that it was not opposed to the results being declared but sought to stall the winner from assuming the charge.
The BCCI resisted the declaration of the results, reportedly heavily in favour of Modi, who was banned for life by the board last year in September on charges of “indiscipline and misconduct”.
“I am not asking – don’t declare the result, but don’t take charge. Because if he (Modi) takes the charge, the consequences will follow and affect two national players from Rajasthan,” Sundaram told the court, seeking a restraining order.
In the course of the earlier hearing of the matter, the court had repeatedly wondered if the BCCI thought that Modi was so powerful that he would win the election. Sundaram had always addressed court’s observation saying that was the ground reality.
As senior counsel Harin Raval appearing for Rampal Sharma – who contested against Modi – requested the court to recall its earlier order as its (apex court) bservers had no jurisdiction to junk the earlier election schedule and hold it again.
Unimpressed by the plea, the court said: “You are a beneficiary (of the fresh election scheduled). Now when everything is over, you are asking for the reversing it and recalling the order. Now it does not lie in your mouth (to ask the court to relook) after you have participated in the election.”
The court was equally unmoved by the submission that the results could jeopardise the future of two players in the national team hailing from Rajasthan.