The Supreme Court on Thursday directed that the results of the upcoming elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) shall not be declared until further orders, while agreeing to hear a plea challenging the conduct of the elections.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the JKCA and posted the matter for further hearing on February 2. The court said that although the election process may go ahead, the outcome should not be announced in the meantime.
The petition before the apex court was filed by several cricket clubs affiliated with the JKCA. The petitioners have sought the appointment of an independent electoral officer to prepare fresh electoral rolls and conduct the elections in strict compliance with the association’s constitution.
They have also requested the court to appoint a retired Supreme Court judge as administrator of the JKCA, with full powers to take over day-to-day administration from the current BCCI-appointed sub-committee.
According to the plea, the present electoral process is vitiated by alleged violations of the JKCA’s constitution, including the exclusion of 16 clubs from the voters’ list. The petitioners have raised concerns that the elections, if allowed to proceed under the current circumstances, would be neither fair nor representative.
While the bench did not stay the entire electoral process, it made it clear that the results of the election must not be declared until the matter is heard in detail. “The election may be conducted, but the result shall not be declared,” the bench stated.
The JKCA has been under the administrative control of a BCCI sub-committee following earlier judicial interventions aimed at streamlining the body’s functioning. The current plea reflects growing discontent among several local cricket clubs over alleged lack of transparency and fairness in the transition to a democratically elected JKCA body.
The upcoming hearing on February 2 is expected to address the core issues of electoral eligibility, neutrality of election oversight, and the role of the BCCI in the transitional phase.
