To avoid contempt of court, BCCI likely to sacrifice Khoda, Paranjape

First the open defiance, now the knee jerk compliance.

This is what the world's richest cricket Board (BCCI) could be seen in doing in the next couple of days to show to the Supreme Court that "it is ready to fall in line".

This has apparently been the fallout of the stern warning being issued by the Chief Justice of India TS Thakur on Wednesday that "you (BCCI) are behaving like Lords. Fall in line, otherwise we will make you fall in line."

Having defied the Justice RM Lodha panel appointed to implement the Apex court orders post the July 18 orders, the BCCI, under Anurag Thakur, has been left with no other option but to be seen as following the orders in toto.

dna has reliably learnt that one powerful section within the BCCI is contemplating removing two of the five selectors — Gagan Khoda (Central Zone) and Jatin Paranjape (West Zone) — to send positive signals to the Apex court before the next hearing on October 6.

It must be mentioned here that the Justice Lodha panel made it mandatory that all selectors should have played Test cricket to be eligible to become senior selectors. "Despite the fact that over 70 former players applied for the post of selectors in different panels, the BCCI president, along with CEO Rahul Johri, picked the weakest selection panel in the history of Indian cricket", a senior BCCI member said. It was because the BCCI Secretary Ajay Shirke was travelling at that time.

For the record, BCCI has never made the names of those who applied public till date. Though a BCCI source has said that an impression had been created that "this weak selection panel is due to Lodha's suggestions as every former player has some or other conflict of interest".

Another BCCI decision which has irked the Court was the election of its secretary Ajay Shirke despite being warned by the Justice Lodha panel, "to not go ahead with any election till the new body is in place".

If top sources are to be believed, then the BCCI top brass, including Shirke, has not found any way out to avoid this 'contempt of Court' charge. "The only way out is to remove Mr Shirke if BCCI is serious about not wanting to irk the Court. But the final decision is with our president or with the Special General Body Meeting (SGM) which is meeting on Friday," said a Board senior member.

Implement or face contempt

However, the Justice Lodha committee is very clear that nothing less than 100 per cent compliance is what they have been appointed to implement in the cricket body.

"If BCCI officials think that they are a law unto themselves, then they are wrong. They have to comply with the directions of the court. The Court will not allow BCCI to defy court orders. We will pass appropriate orders to set you right," a bench headed by the Chief Justice said, giving ample indications of things to come in the next few days.

"BCCI's answer will come on Sept. 30 only when the SGM has been called to discuss SC orders. If the SGM fails to agree to the highest Court's orders then that would be a clear contempt of court," said a source in the Lodha panel. In simple words, there is every possibility that BCCI officials will be removed by the Court and the Lodha panel will be asked to conduct the new elections in the BCCI and state cricket associations.

In any case, Justice Lodha sought the removal of the BCCI president and secretary and to replace these officials with "administrators."

"We've given them all. Now, it's up to BCCI to say 'yes' to all the suggestions. If they say 'no' or only partly accept some of it, then that only means contempt," explains the source, adding: "Under Article 129 of the Constitution, there are wider powers with Supreme Court to deal with the contempt issue. The basic fundamental issue is that 'if you commit the contempt of the highest court, that simply means lowering the dignity and sending wrong signals to the rest of the world'."