Former Union Minister and ex-BCCI President Anurag Thakur has approached the Supreme Court seeking modification of its 2017 order that directed him to “cease and desist” from associating with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi on Friday agreed to hear Thakur’s plea after two weeks. The matter is linked to a long-standing case concerning cricket board reforms and the implementation of the Lodha Committee recommendations.
Appearing for Thakur, senior advocate P.S. Patwalia submitted that the original order was passed without giving the former minister a hearing. “This court, however, dropped the contempt and perjury proceedings. Now I am seeking that this ‘cease and desist’ direction be modified,” he told the bench.
The court had, on January 2, 2017, directed Thakur to immediately stop associating with the BCCI and had issued a show cause notice for contempt and perjury. The notice stemmed from allegations that Thakur, as BCCI President, attempted to undermine the top court’s verdict by seeking a letter from then-ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar that could be used to resist reforms imposed by the court on the cricket board.
At the time, the court had taken serious note of Thakur’s actions, observing:
“The conduct of the President of BCCI in seeking a letter from the President of ICC in August 2016 after the final judgement and order of this court is nothing but an attempt… to evade complying with the order of this court.”
However, the apex court later granted relief to Thakur on July 14, 2017, after he personally appeared and offered an unconditional and unequivocal apology. The court then dropped the contempt and perjury proceedings.
During Friday’s hearing, the bench also directed amicus curiae Maninder Singh to segregate all pending intervention and interlocutory applications related to BCCI issues by category and place them before the court accordingly. It said the remaining BCCI-related applications would be taken up after three weeks.
The petition marks an effort by Thakur to potentially return to cricket administration after a nearly seven-year bar from BCCI affairs.
