:
1. In this petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India the report dated 8th March, 2008 submitted by the three Member Committee of respondent No.1 has been brought in question. The last two concluding paragraphs of the said report read thus:- "32. Similarly the prayers for affiliation as a member of the Board made by the ABC and the CAB before us cannot be considered by us and such affiliation can only be achieved by applying to the Board in the manner prescribed under Rule 6 of the Rules and Regulations of the Board, which application would be considered on its merits in accordance with the Rules & Regulations of the Board.
33. The Committee therefore concludes that the original Bihar Cricket Association with its headquarters at Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur, subsequently renamed as the Jharkhand State Cricket Association, Kennan Stadium, Jamshedpur, is the Full Member of the Board as provided under Clause 3 of the Rules and Regulations of the Board, if the newly formed associations from the State of Bihar are desirous of membership of the Board, they will need to apply to the Board for affiliate membership which application would be considered in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Board."
2. The petitioner is an association registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 with its head office at B-607, Lotus Apartment, New Patliputra Colony, Patna, Bihar and the petition is filed through its working President Shri Prem Ranjan Patel. The respondent No.1 is the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which is a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and it has its administrative office at Cricket Center, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. The substantial reliefs prayed for in this petition read as under:-
"(a) This Hon'ble Court be pleased to quash and set aside the decision of the special committee of the Board for Control of Cricket in India B.C.C.I., Respondent No.1, dated 08.03.2008 by which it has been held that the JSCA is the changed name of the Original Bihar Cricket Association and the claim of the petitioner association cannot be accepted as the petitioner association is a new association and as per the rules and regulation of B.C.C.I., the full membership cannot be granted to the petitioner association.
(b) For a direction to the respondent No.1 to grant full membership to the petitioner association as it has been granted to Jharkhand State Cricket Association which is a new association formed in 2003-2004."
3. Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) was established in the year 1935 with its headquarters at Jamshedpur and since its inception, it has been a Full Member of the B.C.C.I., and represented all the 43 districts of the unified State of Bihar. The Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 came into force on 15th November, 2000 and the State of Bihar has been bifurcated into two different States namely Bihar and Jharkhand. The present State of Bihar has 30 districts whereas Jharkhand has 13 districts. After the formation of two different States a special general body meeting of the B.C.A. was held on 7th January, 2001 wherein it was decided to have two separate Cricket Associations for the two newly formed States i.e. Bihar Cricket Association (with headquarter at Patna) and Jharkhand State Cricket Association (with headquarter at Jamshedpur). It was also decided that on the basis of the bifurcated list of members, elections to the respective Cricket Associations will be held sometime in May/June, 2001. In pursuance of the said decision Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav was elected as the President of the B.C.A.(Patna) on 20th May, 2001 and Shri Amitabh Chouwdhary was elected as the President of Jharkhand State Cricket Association (Jamshedpur) on 13th May, 2001. The B.C.A. (Patna) shifted its headquarter to Patna. Dispute arose between the two Cricket Associations regarding the Full Membership of B.C.C.I. In the working committee meeting of the BCCI held on 25/8/2001, its then President Dr. A.C. Muthiah by his individual ruling had held that BCA (Patna) would continue to exist as the original BCA and whosoever was in the management of BCA (Patna) will be entitled to vote in the Annual General Meeting of BCCI. Being aggrieved by the said decision, Writ Petition (PIL) No. 4507 of 2001 came to be filed before the High Court of Jharkhand and on 28/9/2001, a Division Bench of the said court was pleased to direct that the issue regarding the right to vote in the BCCI election be placed before its full house which shall decide the same issue after taking all the established norms, conventions, instances and facts into account. On 29/9/2001 when the AGM of BCCI was held, the President of BCCI reaffirmed his earlier decision dated 25/8/2001. But on the second day of the AGM i.e. on 30/9/2001 when the provisions of Rule 6 of BCCI Rules and Regulations were brought to the notice of the House, a unanimous decision was adopted and resolved by BCCI empowering the new President to decide the dispute between the two cricket associations. The newly elected President of BCCI revoked the earlier ruling given by his predecessor and the Working Committee meeting held on 26/11/2001 ratified the said decision. The Working Committee also resolved, for the purposes of convenience of identity, to accept that the full member cricket association would be called as BCA (1935) and that it would continue to represent both the States.
4. In August, 2002, BCA (Patna) filed Title Suit No.20 of 2002 at Patna seeking injunction on the ground that it was the original BCA at Jamshedpur. On 7/9/2002, the learned Munsif rejected the temporary injunction application in the said suit. On 28/8/2003 BCA (1935) with headquarters at Jamshedpur came to be registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act 1860 by the Registrar General of Jharkhand. On 15/8/2004 BCA (1935) held its Special General Meeting and unanimously resolved to change the name of BCA to "Jharkhand State Cricket Association" (JSCA). The changed name was intimated to the BCCI and it was approved in its Special General Meeting held on 12/9/2004. The 75th AGM of BCCI ratified the said decision on 29th/30th September, 2004 and consequently, amended its Memorandum as well as the Rules and Regulations. It was further resolved to grant associate membership affiliation to the newly formed Bihar, Chattisgarh and Uttaranchal cricket bodies. In the said meeting, election for the Working Committee for the year 2004-05 was held and JSCA was elected to the said Committee.
5. On 25/10/2005, the Supreme Court appointed, with the consent of the parties, Shri T.S. Krishnamurthy, former Chief Election Commissioner to resolve the disputes in the run up to the right to vote in the ensuing elections of BCCI. Accordingly, Shri Krishnamurthy submitted his report on 5/12/2005 and stated that BCA (Patna) was a newly created association and JSCA was the original BCA (1935). By taking this report on record, the Supreme Court disposed the SLP on 12/12/2005 with liberty to agitate their objections against the same before the appropriate forum. Consequently, BCA (Patna) filed Civil Suit No. 274 of 2006 before the Madras High Court against the BCCI for a declaration that the plaintiff continued to remain full member of the BCCI. On 6/4/2006, the counsel for BCCI made a statement before the Madras High Court in the said suit that the status of BCA (Patna) would be decided in the Working Committee scheduled to be held on 9/4/2006. The Working Committee accordingly resolved on 9/4/2006 to place the matter before the Special General Meeting, which was held on 1/6/2006 at Mumbai. In the said meeting, the representative of JSCA was prevented from participating and the SGM appointed a three member Committee to resolve the issue between the two associations. In Writ Petition No. 3071 of 2006 filed before the High Court of Jharkhand, this decision to constitute a three member committee came to be challenged. On 20/6/2006, while issuing notice, High Court of Jharkhand directed the BCCI that the report, if any, submitted by the three member committee shall be subject to the result of the writ petition. On 16/7/2006 the three member committee submitted its report and concluded recommendations made were as under:-
"(a) The Committee, therefore, feels that the Board does not recognise the the bifurcated State of Bihar and would continue to recognise Bihar Cricket Association, as its Member as it existed before the bifurcation of the State.
(b) The Bihar Cricket Association, as it existed before the bifurcation will be the Member of the Board, they shall hold their election and elect their Office Bearers, which should be recognised by the Board. The said process of election should be completed within a period of 3 months from the date of decision of the General Body of the Board.
5A. The above report was adopted by the BCCI in its General Body Meeting held on 16/8/2006 at Chennai. But, in the meanwhile, on 7/8/2006, the High Court of Jharkhand passed the following order in Writ Petition No. 3071 of 2006:-
"1. Mr. Ravi Shankar, Senior Counsel, appearing for the Board of Control for Cricket in India, prays for and is allowed two weeks time to enable the Board of Control for Cricket in India to take a final decision on the report submitted by Three Men Committee.
2. The Board of Control for Cricket in India is also allowed to take a decision on the report submitted by Three Men Committee, but is prohibited from giving effect to such decision without prior permission of the Court. Let the case be listed under the heading "For Orders" on 1st September, 2006, so that the case may be disposed of on the next date."
6. When the said Petition appeared before the High Court again on 7/9/2006, the High Court modified its earlier order dated 7/8/2006 and directed that till further orders, JSCA shall be allowed to participate in the meetings of BCCI and also to participate in the elections and exercise the right to vote.
7. The above order passed by the High Court of Jharkhand came to be challenged by the BCCI in SLP (Civil) No. 15596 of 2006 along with other orders arising from Civil Suit No. 274 of 2006. On 31/8/2007, the Supreme Court passed the following order: "Heard learned counsel for the parties. Intervention applications are allowed. Dr. A.M. Singhvi, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner-Board for Control of Cricket in India, stated that the Board shall constitute a Committee for deciding the disputes, between the parties, which is subject-matter in these cases, for which prayer has been made for adjourning the cases for four months. Permission accorded. The committee shall decide the entire matter after hearing all the parties without being prejudiced by any observations in the report submitted by earlier Committee."
8. The B.C.C.I., therefore, constituted a committee of 3 members i.e. (1) Mr. M.P. Pandove, (2) Mr. Chirayu Amin and (3) Mr. Sanjay Jagdale. It also issued letters to the office bearers of the following bodies to attend the Special Committee meeting scheduled on 15th December, 2007:-
1.Bihar Cricket Association, Patna (Mr. Ajay Sharma) 2.Association of Bihar Cricket, Patna (Mr.Kirti Azad) 3.Jharkhand State Cricket Association, Ranchi (Mr.Amitabh Choudhary)
4.Cricket Association of Jharkhand (Mr. Muthu Raman) 5.Cricket Association of Bihar, Patna (Mr. Aditya Verma). After considering the submissions made by these rival Associations and the record/records placed before it, the Special Committee of 3 Members submitted its report dated 8th March, 2008 and the said report was placed before the Supreme Court in SL.P. (Civil) Appeal No.15596 of 2006. On 16th April, 2008 the Supreme Court was pleased to dispose off the S.L.P., Writ Petition and the Contempt Petition by the following order:-
"Pursuant to order dated 31st August, 2007, passed by this Court, a Committee was constituted for deciding the disputes between the parties, which has submitted a report dated 8th March, 2008. In our view, if any of the parties feel aggrieved by the report, it would be open to them to challenge the same before an appropriate forum. Learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the writ petitioner before the High Court made a prayer for withdrawal of the Writ Petition(c) No.3071 of 2006, pending before the Jharkhand High Court. We permit the writ petitioner in the writ petition to withdraw the same. "
9. Pursuant to the liberty granted by the Supreme Court to challenge the report dated 8th March, 2008 this Writ Petition has been filed.
10. The moot question that falls for our consideration is whether the report dated 8th March, 2008 calls for any interference in this petition and more particularly so as to grant any of the reliefs prayed for by the petitioner. Let us, therefore, reproduce the substantial prayer clauses, as under:-
"(a) This Hon'ble Court be pleased to quash and set aisde the decision of the special committee of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (B.C.C.I.), Respondent No.1, dated 08.03.2008 by which it has been held that the JSCA is the changed name of the Original Bihar Cricket Association and the claim of the petitioner association cannot be accepted as the petitioner association is a new association and as per the rules and regulation of B.C.C.I. the full membership cannot be granted to the petitioner association.
(b) For a direction to the respondent no.1 to grant full membership to the petitioner association as it has been granted to the Jharkhand State Cricket Association which is a new association formed in 2003-2004."
11. It is pertinent to note at this stage that right from the time it was decided in the meeting held on 7th January, 2001 to bifurcate the B.C.A. into B.C.A., Patna and Jharkhand State Cricket Association (Ranchi) the dispute to be settled by B.C.C.I. regarding the Full Membership was only between these two Associations and each one of them claimed to be the successor of B.C.A. (1935). However, it appears that Shri Kirti Azad, President of the Association of Bihar Cricket (A.B.C.), Mr. Muthu Raman, President, Cricket Association of Jharkhand (C.A.J.) and the Secretary of the present petitioner Mr. Aditya Verma were also issued notices on 29th November, 2007 by the B.C.C.I., to appear before the Special Committee constituted pursuant to the order passed by the Supreme Court. Under these circumstances, we do not agree with the submissions made by the learned Counsel for the respondents that the petitioner has no locus standi to challenge the report dated 8th March, 2008. It could not be, even prima facie, shown that the present petitioner was not before the Supreme Court when the order dated 16th April, 2008 was passed and on the contrary all these associations were interveners in the Special Leave Petition.
12. The Respondent No.2 has filed affidavit in reply on behalf of respondent Nos. 1 and 2 and respondent No.4 has filed affidavit in reply on behalf of respondent Nos. 3 and 4 so as to oppose the petition on the ground of maintainability as well as on merits. As per Respondent No.1 it is governed and bound by its Memorandum and Rules and Regulations and a Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution would not be maintainable against it unless a case is made out that it has acted contrary to any such Rules. However, an enquiry as to rightful claimant of Full Membership cannot a matter of judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution and the issue of legality of change of name or its registration cannot be gone into in this petition. As such the remedy for the said reliefs, lies somewhere else. It has also been pointed out that the very same report dated 8th March, 2008 has been challenged by the present petitioner in Writ Petition No.749 of 2008 filed before the High Court at Patna on 5th May, 2008 and unless the said petition has been withdrawn with liberty to file this petition, it would would be just and proper that the instant petition is dismissed as not maintainable. On merits it has been contended by respondent No.1 that the Special Committee Meeting was held on 8th March, 2008 and all the 3 members were present so as to take into consideration the submissions made by all the parties in the earlier meeting held on 15th December, 2007 and after deliberations the said report was prepared. It was placed before the Supreme Court and though liberty was granted to the parties to agitate against any grievance, before an appropriate forum, the Supreme Court did not note or record anything adverse against the said report.
13. As per the respondent No.4 the petitioner Association is a facade created by Mr. Aditya Prakash Verma and his associates including his associates including Mr. Alok Raj who were all the members of the respondent No.3. It is also alleged that Mr. Aditya Prakash Verma has also created another fictitious body called the Saran District Cricket Association and the said Association is one of the petitioners in Writ Petition No.7491 of 2008, presently pending before the High Court at Patna. It is also contended that the reliefs prayed for in the said petition pending before the High Court at Patna and in this petition are the same i.e. for quashing the Special Committee Report dated 8th March, 2008 and by which the respondent No.3 has been held to be the Full Member of the B.C.C.I. It is also alleged that the petitioner Association has been created for the first time in the year 2007 and, therefore, it is a complete stranger to the disputes between B.C.A. (Patna) and Jharkhand State Cricket Association (Jamshedpur) and, therefore, it has no locus standi to challenge the report of the Special Committee. On merits it has been pointed out that the Bihar Cricket Association (1935) at Jamshedpur has been a Full Member of the B.C.C.I., right from its inception and it came to be registered on 28/8/2003 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 by the Registrar of Societies, Jamshedpur, which was subsequently renamed as the Jharkhand State Cricket Association and the said change in name was also intimated to the Registrar under the Societies Registration Act for Jharkhand State who in turn has incorporated the said change. Thus the respondent No.3 is the rightful successor of original B.C.A. (Jamshedpur) and it has been rightly recognised as a Full Member. It is also pointed out that the B.C.A. Patna has already been granted associate membership by the B.C.C.I., and therefore, it can take care of the cricket in the State of Bihar.
14. The BCCI has its Memorandum of Association and framed Rules and Regulations. Under the Memorandum of Association, the aims and objects of the Board are listed and some of the relevant ones are reproduced as under:-
(a) To control the game of cricket in India and give its decision on all matters including women's cricket which may be referred to it by any member associate in India;
(b) To encourage the formation of State, Regional or other Cricket Associations and the organization of Inter- State and other Tournaments;
(e) To promote the game throughout India by organizing coaching schemes, establishing coaching academies, holding tournaments, exhibition matches, Test Matches, ODI's, Twenty/20, any other matches and by any other manner;
(f) To foster the spirit of sportsmanship and the ideals of cricket amongst school, college and university students and others and educate them in the same.
(g) To frame the Laws of Cricket in India and to make alteration, amendments or addition to the laws of cricket in India whenever desirable or necessary;
(n) To lay out any ground for playing the game and for other purposes and to provide pavilion, canteen and other conveniences and amenities in connection therewith; (o) To impart physical education through the medium of cricket and take all steps to assist the citizens to develop their physique;
(r ) To take such action as may be necessary to coordinate the activities of affiliated associations, institutions and their members in relation to the Board and amongst themselves;
(s) To select teams to represent India in Test Matches, One Day International and Twenty/20 matches played in India or abroad, and to select such other teams as the Board may decide from time to time."
15. The Rules and Regulations set out the procedure for grant of its membership to the cricket associations all over India. The BCCI has five zones i.e. North Zone, South Zone, East Zone, West Zone and Central Zone. It has three types of memberships as stated in Rule 1(b) i.e.,
(i) "Member" means a Full Member and includes its representative.
(ii) "An Associate Member" means an Association admitted as an Associate Member under the Rule 3(iii) of the Rules and Regulations and includes its representative. (iii) "Affiliate Member" means any State which is not covered by any Full Member or Associate Member, may be admitted as an Affiliate Member but shall not include any union territory.
In the East Zone, JSCA is included and it is the Board which decides the zone in which an Associate Member, promoted as Full Member, shall fall. As per Rule 3, the membership of the Board shall be confined to (a) Full Members, (b) Associate Members and (c) Affiliate Members. The list of Full Members and Associate Members has been set out in the Rules. It is further stated under Rule 3 that there shall be no direct affiliation to the Board as a Full Member or as an Associate Member. As per Rule 3(a)(iii), the Central controlling body for cricket in any State within the territory of India other than union territory and approved by the Board as Associate Member and under Rule 3(a)(iv) any State within India which is not covered by either Full Member or Associate Member other than the union territory may be admitted as Affiliate Member. Rule 6 provides for the procedure for promotion of an Associate Member to a Full Member and an Affiliate Member to an Associate Member. It would be appropriate to reproduce the said Rule.
"6(A) PROCEDURE FOR PROMOTION OF AN ASSOCIATE MEMBER TO A FULL MEMBER
An Associate Member may be promoted as a Full Member on fulfillment of the following conditions:
(i) If the said member is an Associate Member for a continuous period of five cricketing seasons, and (ii) Such a member satisfies the Boards that the game in its jurisdiction has reached a standard justifying its participation in the National Tournment of Ranji Trophy. The Board, on receipt of an application from an "Associate" Member for being promoted to "Full" Membership, shall appoint at a General Body Meeting, a Special Committee which will go into the merits of the case and make recommendations to the Board, which the Board shall consider at its next General Body Meeting. The recommendations of the Special Committee for the promotion shall be accepted if it is passed by 3/4th majority of members present and voting. The Board may reject any application for promkotion without assigning any reasons therefore.
6. (B) PROCEDURE FOR ADMISSION AS AN AFFILIATE MEMBER UNDER RULE 3 (IV) AND PROMOTION AS AN ASSOCIATE MEMBER
(i) The Central Controlling Body for cricket in any state within the territory of India other than union territory which is not covered by a Full Member or Associate Member, desirous of being admitted as Affiliate Member shall submit an application to the Secretary for affiliation along with a copy of its Rule and Regulations, its lists of members mentioning the areas or regions over which it exercises jurisdiction. The application shall be considered by the Board at a General Body Meeting and the applicant shall be admitted as a Affiliate Member if 3/4th of the majority of the members present at a General Body Meeting and entitled to vote so decide. The Board may reject any application for membership without assigning any reason.
(ii)PROMOTION OF AN AFFILIATE MEMBER AS AN ASSOCIATE MEMBER
An Affiliate Member may be promoted as an Associate Member on fulfillment of the following conditions:
(a) An Affiliate Member has been on the roll for a continuous period of 5 years.
(b) Such a member satisfies the Board that the game and infrastructure facilities in its jurisdiction has reached a standard justifying its participation in the Junior National Tournament. The Board, on receipt of an application from an Affiliate Member for being promoted to Associate Member, shall appoint at its Annual General Body Meeting a Special Committee which will go into the merits of the case and make recommendations to the Board, which the Board shall consider at its next General Body Meeting. The recommendations of the Special Committee for the promotion shall be accepted if it is passed by 3/4th majority of members present and voting. The Board may reject any application for promotion without assigning any reasons therefore."
16. From the sequence of events stated herienabove, the dispute regarding the Full Membership of BCCI, all along and till the order dated 31/8/2007 was passed by the Supreme Court for appointment of a three member committee, was only between BCA (Patna) and BCA, Jamshedpur initially and subsequently JSCA, Jamshedpur. After the resolution dated 7/1/2001, another resolution was passed on 18/3/2001 to the effect that BCA (1935) would represent both the States i.e. Bihar and Jharkhand. In Title Suit No. 20 of 2002, while rejecting the application for temporary injunction on 7/9/2002, the learned Munsif held, inter alia, that (a) the Patna based BCA was different from the original BCA and (b) the original BCA established in the year 1935 with headquarters at Jamshedpur was never dissolved and continued to exist even after the bifurcation of the State of Bihar and was recognized by the BCCI. On 28/8/2003, BCA (1935) came to be registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 for the first time and on 15/8/2004 a resolution was passed to change its name as JSCA. The Special General Committee of BCCI approved the same on 12/9/2004 and the 75th AGM of BCCI ratified it on 29th/30th September, 2004. JSCA was elected to the Working Committee to the BCCI for 2004-05 and as per Rule 13(1)(c) of the Rules and Regulations only a Full Member of BCCI can be elected to the Working Committee. On 23/3/2005 the new name of BCA (1935) i.e. J.S.C.A., was duly incorporated in the record of Inspector General of Registration, Jharkhand. Though there was an agreement signed on 2/8/2005 between the newly formed cricket associations in Bihar i.e. (a) Association of Bihar Cricket, (b) Bihar Cricket Association (Patna), (c) Cricket Association of Bihar and (d) Bihar Players Association, to come under one umbrella and merged into one association, namely, the Association of Bihar Cricket under the presidentship of Shri Kirti Azad, this agreement was never acted upon. Then came the one man committee of Shri Krishnamurthy appointed by the Supreme Court on 25/10/2005 and in his report dated 5/12/2005, he stated that BCA (Patna) was a newly created association and JSCA was the original BCA (1935). Based on this report, the SLP was disposed by the Supreme Court on 12/12/2005 with liberty to the aggrieved parties to agitate their objections before an appropriate forum. BCA (Patna), therefore, filed Civil Suit No. 274 of 2006 for a declaration that it continued to remain a Full Member of BCCI. Based on an oral statement made by the learned counsel for the BCCI before the Madras High Court in the said suit, a fresh committee of three members came to be constituted and it submitted its report on 16/7/2006 and this was challenged in I.A. No. 2028 of 2006 filed in Writ Petition No. 307 of 2006. This report also reiterated the earlier recommendations made by Shri Krishnamurthy and it concluded that the BCCI would continue to recognise BCA (1935) as it existed before the bifurcation of the State of Bihar. However, on 7/9/2006, a Division Bench of the High Court of Jharkhand directed that till further orders,
JSCA shall be allowed to participate in the meetings of the BCCI. JSCA had also participated earlier in the meetings of BCCI during the years 2004-05 and 2005-06.
17. The newly constituted committee as envisaged in the order dated 31/8/2007, heard all the cricket associations from the State of Bihar and State of Jharkhand, who were the interveners or parties before the Supreme Court, on 15/12/2007 and recorded the inter se contentions between the parties as under in paras 4 and 5 of the said report,
"4. While the aforementioned Special Leave Petitions arise out of an interlocutory order of the Hon'ble High Court of Jharkhand, the dispute between the parties is in essence as follows:
Prior to the year 2000 the full member of the BCCI as the central controlling body for cricket in the State of Bihar was the "Bihar Cricket Association" an organization constituted in 1935 with its headquarters at Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur. Upon the bifurcation of the State of Bihar into the States of Jharkhand and truncated Bihar as of 15th November 2000 pursuant to the Bihar Reorganization Act, 2000, different organizations made competing claims that they were the "Bihar Cricket Association" which was a full member of the BCCI and had a right to avail the benefits of full membership. The two organizations claiming to be the "Bihar Cricket Association" with its headquarters at Jamshedpur which was a full member of the BCCI prior to bifurcation of the State of Bihar are the Bihar Cricket Association with its headquarters at Patna ("BCA, Patna") and the Jharkhand State Cricket Association ("JSCA") with its headquarters at Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur. The former claims that it is the original Bihar Cricket Association with its headquarters at Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur and shifted its headquarters to Patna in 2001. The JSCA, on the other hand, claims that it is the original Bihar Cricket Association with its headquarters at Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur which changed its name to Jharkhand State Cricket Association on 15/8/2004.
5. The other parties before the Committee have filed intervention applications before the Hon'ble Supreme Court and have been impleaded as parties to the Special Leave Petitions. The Cricket Association of Bihar and the Association of Bihar Cricket have been formed after bifurcation and do not claim to be the original Bihar Cricket Association but seek fresh affiliation with the BCCI. Mr.Alok Raj makes submissions relating to the dispute between the JSCA and the BCA, Patna and supports grant of fresh affiliation to the Cricket Association of Bihar and the Cricket Association of Jharkhand."
18. Thus even before the newly formed three member committee, the dispute regarding the full membership as available to the original BCA (1935) was only between BCA (Patna) and JSCA, (Jamshedpur). Whereas the Cricket Association of Bihar (present petitioner) and Cricket Association of Jharkhand (petitioner in W.P. No. 2593 of 2009) had claimed fresh affiliation to BCCI. The Committee has concluded that the original BCA with its headquarters at Keenan Stadium at Jamshedpur and subsequently renamed as JSCA, Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur is the Full Member of the BCCI under Clause 3 of the Rules and Regulations of the Board. It has further stated that if the newly formed associations from the State of Bihar are desirous of membership of the Board, they need to apply to the Board for affiliate membership, which application would be considered in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Board.
19. After the Supreme Court in its order dated 16/4/2000 granted liberty to challenge the said recommendations, the petitioner and other associations filed Writ Petition No. 749 of 2008 and in the same I.A. No. 6048 of 2008 came to be filed by Shri Alok Raj for and on behalf of BCA (Patna) seeking leave to withdraw the petition on behalf of petitioner no.1 on the grounds that the BCCI had assured petitioner no.1 that BCA (Patna) will be granted affiliation in the next general meeting of the BCCI. This application was presented in the High Court of Judicature at Patna and para 2 of the said application reads as under:-
"That the Petitioner No.1 has persuaded the Petitioner No.2 and 3 to withdraw the whole writ petition but they have not agreed. However, in view of the assurance from BCCI the Petitioner does not want to continue as a Petitioner No.1 in this writ petition and crave leave of this Hon'ble Court to grant him permission to withdraw this writ petition on his behalf to avail the opportunity assured by the respondent no1."
Thus the BCA (Patna) brought an end to its claim of full membership of BCCI on the assurance given by the BCCI. During the course of arguments the learned counsel appearing for respondent nos.1 and 2 stated that BCA (Patna) has been granted associate/affiliate membership on 27-9-2008. We have also noted that BCA (Patna) is not a party before us and despite our oral instructions calling upon the petitioner to ask any representative of BCA (Patna) to remain present, none filed any application before us either for intervention or for being impleaded as one of the petitioners. We record this only to note and conclude that so far as BCA (Patna) is concerned, it has not challenged the report dated 8/3/2008 and thus the original dispute between the two associations, namely, BCA (Patna) and JSCA,(Jamshedpur) on the full membership of BCCI has come to an end and BCA (Patna) has accepted the recommendations of the Committee. This petition, therefore, has to be considered only for the limited relief to the petitioner and as was claimed before the Committee i.e. fresh affiliation by BCCI.
20. Even otherwise, in the impugned report the factual matrix, as reproduced hereinabove, has been considered by the Committee and its findings in paras 21 to 27 deal with the dispute between BCA (Patna) and JSCA, Jamshedpur. The report also noted the fact that pursuant to the interim order passed by the Supreme Court on 7/9/2006, both BCA (Patna) and JSCA, Jamshedpur were permitted to vote as a temporary measure. The Committee rejected and in our opinion rightly, the contention that BCA (Patna) was formed only by way of shifting the headquarters of BCA (1935) from Jamshedpur to Patna and held that the record proved the continuation of BCA (1935) with its headquarters at Jamshedpur and it was the full member of the BCCI. The findings recorded in paras 23 to 27 of the report are reproduced as under:- "23. The JSCA submits that by way of a resolution dated 15-08-2004 passed by the BCA (1935) at a Special General Meeting, the name of the BCA (1935) was unanimously changed to "Jharkhand State Cricket Association". The same was communicated to the BCCI for necessary record and amendment to the Rules and Regulations of the BCCI. The BCCI sought clarification from the Association as to whether the resolution was passed in accordance with the Association's rules and regulations. At a special General Meeting of the BCCI on 12th September, 2004, the Full Members present unanimously approved and adopted the change of name of the BCA (1935) to "Jharkhand State Cricket Association" and consequential amendments of the Rules and Regulations of the BCCI were also adopted and incorporated.
24. The BCA, Patna submits that the said amendments were not confirmed at the subsequent 75th AGM of the BCCI held on 29th/30th September, 2004 and are therefore of no consequence. However, the minutes of the said meeting show that the minutes of the Special General Meeting of the Board held on 12th September, 2004 with regard to the amendments to the Rules and Regulations of the Board were confirmed. Thus, based on the record before us, the decision of the Special General Meeting to amend the Rules and Regulations to reflect the change of name from Bihar Cricket Association to Jharkhand State Cricket Association was ratified by the AGM. Consistent with this conclusion is the fact that only the representative of the JSCA was permitted to attend the AGM of the BCCI on 29th/30th September, 2004 for the State of Bihar and Jharkhand.
25. The BCA, Patna also contends that it did not receive notice prior to the holding of the SGM dated 12-09-2004 and therefore cannot be burdened with its consequences of the decisions made at the said SGM. We have already concluded that as of the date of the said SGM, the BCA (1935) was the Full Member of the BCCI and not the BCA, Patna, which was a separate entity. Therefore, only the Full Member of the BCCI i.e. the BCA (1935) with its headquarters at Jamshedpur, was entitled to receive notice.
26. No material has been placed before us to suggest that the resolution passed by the Bihar Cricket Association on 15-08-2004 inter alia for change of its name to Jharkhand State Cricket Association has been declared null and void by any Court of law or even challenged in any Court of law by way of a prayer for declaration that such resolution is null and void. In any event, whether or not the change of name of the Full Member of the BCCI from "Bihar Cricket Association" to "Jharkhand State Cricket Association" was valid or not would be of little consequence since the underlying entity, whether called the "Bihar Cricket Association" or the "Jharkhand Cricket Association", existing as of 15-08-2004 with its headquarters at Jamshedpur, continues to be the Full Member of the BCCI.
27. After the change of name, the JSCA has been availing of Full Membership benefits including sending its representatives to attend AGMs. The JSCA as a Full Member of the BCCI was elected to the Working Committee of the BCCI for the year 2004-2005. Its representatives were also elected as members of various other Committees in the 75th AGM. For the year 2005-2006 representatives of the JSCA were members of the "Tours and Fixtures Committee" and the "Umpires Committee" and later served on other committees as well. The JSCA has also been selecting a unified team from the States of Bihar and Jharkhand for each level of domestic tournaments."
21. Having given our anxious considerations to the facts elaborately set out hereinabove, the present petitioner never claimed to be successor of BCA (1935) and BCA (Patna) has already given up its challenge to the recommendations of the Committee that JSCA is the changed name of BCA (1935). The only claim that requires adjudication in this petition is regarding full membership of BCCI to be granted to the petitioner.
22. Undoubtedly, the petitioner's case for granting full membership of BCCI on par with the full membership granted to JSCA, either by the Board or by any other Committee was never agitated it before it appeared in the Supreme Court by way of an intervention application. Such a claim was never put up either in the Title Suit filed at Patna or Civil Suit No. 274 of 2006 filed before the Madras High Court. Even in Writ Petition No. 3071 of 2006 filed before the High Court of Jharkhand, no such claim was raised by the present petitioner by any intervention application. The one man committee of Shri Krishnamurthy as well as the subsequent three member committee constituted by the BCCI pursuant to the statement made before the Madras High Court, such a claim was not made by the petitioner and for the first time when the Board issued notice dated 29/11/2007 for the hearing scheduled on 15/12/2007, the petitioner raised the claim of fresh affiliation and not the claim for full membership as is clear from para 5 of the impugned report.
23. Membership of BCCI is of three types and grant of membership of any type is covered by Rule 6 of the Rules and Regulations of the Board, as has been reproduced hereinabove. To begin with, a newly registered cricket association/body has to apply for affiliate membership under Rule 6(B)(ii) and once such a membership is granted, there is a provision for promotion after a continuous period of five years of such membership, as an associate member. Under Rule 6(A) an associate member with a continuous tenure of five cricketing seasons may be promoted as a full member on fulfillment of other prescribed conditions. Thus, the entry into the Board is by way of affiliate membership at the first instance, then there is a provision for promotion as an associate member and thereafter a full member. The Rules and Regulations do not limit or restrict the membership of the Board in a particular State. For example, in the State of Maharashtra there are three full members, namely, the Maharashtra Cricket Association, Mumbai Cricket Association and Vidarbha Cricket Association. The first two associations are in the west zone, whereas the Vidarbha Cricket Association is in the central zone. JSCA finds its place in east zone. It is, therefore, necessary for the petitioner to apply for an affiliate membership at the first instance and then seek promotion as an associate member and thereafter full member. The Rules and Regulations are binding and the BCCI must follow the said Rules. The prayer made in this petition goes contrary to the Rules and Regulations and such a prayer cannot be granted. The Committee, in the impugned report, has considered the factual position and also the claim of the petitioner association and stated in the concluding paragraphs that if the newly formed associations from the State of Bihar are desirous of membership of the Board, they need to apply to the Board to affiliate membership, which application would be considered in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Board. In our opinion, the said recommendations of the Committee cannot be faulted on any count, having regard to the scheme of Rule 6 of the Rules and Regulations of the Board.
24. A host of decisions of the Supreme Court have been cited by Mr. Sinha, the learned Senior counsel for the petitioner. He also submitted that the impugned report of the Committee is vitiated on the ground that one of the three members was not present, either for the hearing scheduled on 15/12/2007 or on 8/3/2008. The report was placed before the Supreme Court and it has been signed by all the three members on 8/3/2008. The allegation that on 15/12/2007 only two of the three members heard the parties has been denied by the respondent nos. 1 and 2. Even otherwise, the report clearly states that all the three members jointly considered the entire factual position right from 7/1/2001 till the hearing that had taken place on 15/12/2007 and by analyzing the record, it held that the petitioner, if desirous of membership of the Board, will have to apply for an affiliate membership and such an application would be considered in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Board. The report impugned does not require the consideration of any of the judgments cited by Mr.Sinha as the said report is purely based on facts and the record.
Whether the registration of BCA (1935) for the first time on 28/8/2003 was legal, whether the change of name of BCA (1935) to JSCA, (Jamshedpur) was legal and whether Shri Amitabh Chaudhary had misused his official position and influenced the officers of Registration Department of the State of Jharkhand are the issues which cannot be gone into in this petition while considering the challenge raised to the report dated 8/3/2008. The relief, which is contrary to the Rules and Regulations and more particularly Rule 6 therein, cannot be granted. Hence, in our considered opinion there is no case made out by the petitioner to grant any of the reliefs prayed for and the petition must, therefore, fail.
25. In the result, the petition is dismissed. Rule stands discharged. Parties to bear their own costs.