Day before hearing, Dalmiya moves court

A day before the BCCI’s disciplinary was to grill Jagmohan Dalmiya in New Delhi, the beleaguered president of the Cricket Association of Bengal...

A day before the BCCI’s disciplinary was to grill Jagmohan Dalmiya in New Delhi, the beleaguered president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) did the expected — move court, challenging the Board’s decision to haul him up for interrogation.

Dalmiya filed a suit against the BCCI at the Kolkata City Civil Court, questioning the legality of the Board’s move to conduct the disciplinary hearing tomorrow. His lawyers will seek an interim stay order on the 1pm BCCI hearing. This comes up for hearing at the court tomorrow morning.

It was the expected ploy by Damiya, now busy with the equally contentious elections of the CAB (scheduled July 30).

The BCI was “anticipating” this, anyway, Niranjan Shah Board secretary, told The Indian Express from Mumbai. He said the Board is “fully prepared to handle the matter” in court.

“We got to know of it immediately after Dalmiya moved court. We are already in the process of arranging for lawyers who will attend the hearing in Kolkata tomorrow morning,” Shah said.

This will not change the Board’s schedule, though. Shah said the BCCI’s disciplinary panel will, anyway, await Dalmiya. “That hearing is officially on, at 1pm in New Delhi. The panel comprises Board president Sharad Pawar, Shashank Manohar and Chirayu Amin.

In the suit, Dalmiya has also prayed before the court to remove the suspension that the Board had slapped on him recently.

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Meanwhile, for a moment, the pitch seemed to have been queered for the elections further when a nomination form for presidency was received by the association from the High Court Club. The papers said that for Union minister Ajit Panja wanted to contest the presidency. Later it was clarified as a big “mistake” and it was learnt that the club will send a withdrawal letter to the CAB tomorrow.