Supreme Court Orders Suspension of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association Election Results
On January 8, the Supreme Court issued an order suspending the declaration of results for the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) elections until further notice. This decision came after a Division Bench, consisting of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, took serious note of allegations of fraud, backdating of orders, and manipulation of electoral rolls against members of a sub-committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The elections, which were being overseen by the court-appointed Electoral Officer, A K Jyoti, have been marred by controversy. A plea filed by the Youth Cricket Club and others alleged that the Sub-Committee had engaged in collusion to retrospectively issue orders and unlawfully alter electoral rolls, compromising the integrity of the electoral process.
As a result of the gravity of these allegations, the Supreme Court issued notices to the authorities involved and directed that the election results, if any, should not be announced until further orders are given. The petition, filed by nineteen cricket clubs that make up the general body of JKCA, accused the Electoral Officer of turning a blind eye to the illegalities committed by the current administrators, leading to the vitiation of the entire process.
The petition called for the removal of A K Joti from the office of Electoral Officer due to his alleged abdication of duty, lack of independence, and failure to uphold the sanctity of the court’s orders and the JKCA Constitution. It also requested the appointment of a new, independent Electoral Officer with impeccable integrity to conduct the elections in accordance with the approved constitution and court judgments.
Furthermore, the petition sought the appointment of a retired Supreme Court judge as the administrator of JKCA with full powers to take over the day-to-day administration from the existing BCCI sub-committee. The goal is to ensure a transparent and fair electoral process that upholds the principles of democracy and accountability within the cricket association.
