The HC will hear the appeal filed by the BCA — an affiliate of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as well as former cricketer Kiran More, challenging the March 16 judgment.
THE GUJARAT High Court (HC) on Monday granted that the interim arrangement of the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA)’s present body to function as caretaker would continue until the next date of hearing of an appeal against the March 16 judgment pronounced by a Single Judge Bench of the Gujarat HC disqualifying four candidates from the elections that were held on February 15.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D N Ray granted that the interim arrangement would continue until the next date of hearing — April 7, as mutually prayed for by the advocates appearing for the appellants. The HC will hear the appeal filed by the BCA — an affiliate of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as well as former cricketer Kiran More, challenging the March 16 judgment.
On March 16, Justice Niral R Mehta, had held that the four candidates — Kiran More and Amul Jikar of the Revival Group as well as Anant Indulkar and Amar Petiwale of the Satyamev Jayate-Royal Group combine – had completed nine cumulative years in the Cricket Association either as members of the Apex Council or the Managing Committee in the Apex Council or as Office Bearers thus “incurring disqualification”. The court judgment, while citing the recommendations of the Justice Lodha Committee, accepted the principle of tenure-based disqualification, also held that a “mandatory cooling-off period of three years” should be observed upon completion of two consecutive terms.
Stating that the Electoral Officer was “envisaged as an authority responsible for conducting and supervising the entire election process”, the HC held that the election officer in the present case had “failed to discharge the statutory duty cast upon him” in deciding the objections and disputes raised through the applications of the petitioners. The court judgement had also stated that the SC had “envisaged the appointment of a former Election Commissioner as Electoral Officer with the expectation that such authority would discharge his functions independently, fairly, and without fear or favour”. However, the judgment had stated, that in the present case, the electoral officer had “neither acted independently nor fairly, and has failed to adhere to the very object and purpose for which the office of the Electoral Officer was created”.
After the pronouncement of the judgment, the advocate for the private respondents had prayed for extension of interim arrangement initially granted by the HC on February 18, to allow the present body of the BCA to continue as “caretaker”, clarifying that the arrangement is “purely temporary and shall not create any right, equity or claim for continuation beyond the interim period” and that the decisions taken by the caretaker body “shall remain subject to final outcome of the main proceedings”.
The petitioners – P C Solanki and R P Prajapati – who are members of the BCA, had sought directions to the BCCI, BCA and the Election Officer to comply with the directions of the Supreme Court in order to “restrain” More, Indulkar, Jikar and Petiwale from contesting for the various posts of the BCA, challenging the validity of their candidatures for the term 2026–2029.
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
Expertise:
Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including:
Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground.
Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure.
Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case).
Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions.
Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More
