Supreme Court Calls For Structural Reforms In State Cricket Associations To Protect Sport’s Interests

The Supreme Court said on Friday that the state cricket associations need to initiate reforms to ensure that the district associations operate as professional, transparent and in the best interests of the sport.

A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe said such reforms may include transparency in the selection of players and also, the execution of contracts.

"We must clarify that it is open, rather necessary, for the state associations to initiate reforms to ensure that the district associations operate as professional, transparent and in the best interests of the sport.

"In fact, the district associations must volunteer to adopt reformative measures, such as good governance, refined management, transparency and the exclusion of conflicts of interest," the bench said.

The observations came while the bench was hearing a plea filed by the Tiruchirappalli District Cricket Association, challenging a Madras High Court order regarding voting and membership rights.

"Since the issues concerning membership and the composition of the appellant association are pending before the high court and the statutory authority, we are of the opinion that such questions should be resolved as expeditiously as possible," the bench said.

The top court said recognising the importance of sports to the national life, it had observed that "national, international, regional or even mohalla sports in India serve as the karmabhumi where cohesion and collective purpose take a tangible form".

The court said sports bring together individuals from diverse social, linguistic and cultural backgrounds under a common pursuit, embodying the constitutional value of fraternity.

"Here, individual and collective aspirations find a way to coalesce. On the field, teamwork compels individuals to set aside personal distinctions and work together, cultivating habits of cooperation, solidarity and mutual respect," the bench said.

It said accessibility of sports is important, for when opportunities to participate are open to all -- irrespective of race, caste, religion, sex or economic status -- the unifying power of sports is amplified.

"This inclusiveness ensures that sports become not a privilege of the few but a medium through which fraternity is strengthened across the society. In this way, sports operationalise what the framers envisioned: an intangible yet indispensable force that holds us together through shared effort and common purpose," the bench said.

The court said it is high time it is recognised that sporting "facilities and opportunities" are "material resources of the community", and their organisers are "the institutions of the national life".

"As 'places of public resort', sporting institutions and bodies must remain accessible, not just for pursuing sports, but also for their administration. It should be the deeper 'sadhana (endeavour)' of the State and it is also our constitutional duty to ensure that sporting facilities and opportunities flourish with institutional efficiency, integrity, professionalism and expertise.

"It is also necessary to ensure that sporting facilities and opportunities are not concentrated in the hands of the urban economic elite and that the revenues from sporting events, intellectual property and media rights are so distributed to subserve and encourage accessible and affordable sports in our country," the bench said.