Dissent In DDCA: Ombudsman’s Hearing To Resolve Impasse Inconclusive

The issues arising out of Delhi and District and Cricket Association (DDCA) president Rajat Sharma’s taking back his resignation will probably take some time to resolve, after a hearing by the DDCA Ombudsman on Wednesday remained inconclusive, even as Justice (Retired) Badar Durrez Ahmed floated an offer to the parties to convene a general body meeting to resolve the matter. (More Cricket News)

After Sharma resigned on November 16 – followed by five other persons in the DDCA – and after its acceptance by the Apex Council, three association members complained and prayed to the Ombudsman that the council’s three resolutions be set aside. In their complaints, DDCA members Siddharth Singh, Darshan Kumar, and Rajan Tewari, who is a government nominee on the Apex Council, have sought quashing of the three resolutions passed by the breakaway nine-member group of the council, stay any more “illegal” circulars, and also to keep Vinod Tihara away from functioning as DDCA secretary while the Ombudsman tackles the issues. Tewari and Darshan have sought the dissolution of the entire Apex Council and prayed for fresh election so that a new body could be constituted.

But even after the two-hour hearing, during which sparks flew occasionally from contesting counsels, there was no resolution. Ahmed, a former Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, then said that the hearing would continue at 2 pm on Thursday.

“My whole job is that cricket should not suffer. And cricket-specific administration has to be in the hands of [former] cricketers. There should be no interference in selections [of Delhi teams]; I am putting this on record,” Justice Ahmed firmly told the counsels. The Ombudsman said this when he was told that the domestic tournaments were being played at the moment.

The DDCA Apex Council came into being on July 2 last year, and the annual general body meeting is overdue. While the DDCA has sought, and got, extension from the Registrar of Companies (RoC) twice, Justice Ahmed said: “The AGM must happen.”

Interestingly, another case, filed by senior DDCA member Dinesh Saini in the Delhi High Court, is also about the AGM, and is scheduled to be heard on November 29. Saini has argued that the AGM cannot be delayed on the pretext of the non-readiness of the accounts/balance sheet.

A total of 23 advocates were present at the Ombudsman’s hearing on Wednesday. Nalin Mehta appeared on behalf of Rajat Sharma, who was not present. The eight Apex Council members who signed the resolutions are: Rakesh Bansal (vice-president), Vinod Tihara (secretary), Rajan Manchanda (joint secretary), Renu Khanna (women Director), Sanjay Bhardwaj (first-class cricketer, Director), Alok Mittal, Apurv Jain, Nitin Gupta, and Shiv Nandan Sharma. All of them were present at the hearing.

The DDCA politics has clearly affected the performance of its various teams, with many people blaming biased and poor selection of teams as a core issue. Soon after the Ombudsman hearing ended on Wednesday, Delhi were knocked out of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament after they lost to minnows Rajasthan by two runs. The previous season had also turned out to be a poor one for the various Delhi teams.

During the hearing, the issue of DDCA treasurer Om Prakash Sharma, a sitting BJP MLA of Delhi Assembly, also cropped up. Ankur Chawla, who represented all nine dissenting Apex Council members, stressed that the Supreme Court-approved new constitution of the BCCI and the state associations bar “minister or government servants” from holding office-bearers’ posts.

While Om Prakash is not a minister, he is currently facing a court case after videos of him beating people outside Patiala House Courts in the heart of Delhi in February 2016 were shown on news channels. The new constitution also bars people who have been “charged by a Court of law for having committed any criminal offence” from becoming office-bearers.

There was a high-pitched argument between the counsels when Chawla said that Om Prakash continued to act as DDCA treasurer and even signed and presented a cheque on behalf of the DDCA, Delhi Lieutenant Governor to be given to the Delhi Police.

Earlier, in the hearing Justice Ahmed wondered how the issues could be resolved at the earliest. “My job is to resolve disputes. Is there any other way of resolution?” he asked the gathering. Commenting on another point, he clarified that the idea of appointment of Ombudsman was to discourage people from rushing to courts for resolution of issues.

The nine dissenting DDCA Directors who have formed the majority in the 16-member Apex Council were present at the hearing.

When the elections to the DDCA were held last year, Rajat Sharma’s panel had swept the field 12-0. But soon the Apex Council was split down the middle, with the president leading one faction and Tihara the other.

As the hearing carried on for too long on Wednesday, the Ombudsman postponed a scheduled hearing into a compliant of fudging of age by 13 Delhi players. The hearing will now take place on December 11. The complaint has been filed by former India cricketer Kirti Azad and DDCA member Sameer Bahadur.