Mumbai: In the midst of IPL, there is good news for the Indian Cricket Board. The Central Information Commission (CIC) on Monday clarified that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is no longer covered by the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The commission said BCCI is not owned or controlled by the government. Also, they do not get enough financial help from the government.
At the same time, the Information Commission dismissed the petition, which sought to know under what rules and rights the BCCI represents India and selects players for national and international cricket competitions.
BCCI is not covered by RTI Act
The CIC in its decision stated that the BCCI is a private, autonomous body, registered under the ‘Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act’. It has not been constituted by the Constitution, Parliament or any State Legislature and is not a body constituted by any Government Notification.
Information Commissioner PR Ramesh, in his order, said that BCCI cannot be classified as a ‘public authority’ under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, hence the provisions of the RTI Act are not applicable to the board in this case.
Change of decision of CIC
This decision supersedes the directive issued in 2018. Whereas the then Information Commissioner and eminent legal expert M Sridhar Acharyulu considered the BCCI as a ‘public authority’. He directed the BCCI President, Secretary and Committee of Administrators to appoint Central People Information Officer (CPIO), Assistant People Information Officer (APIO) and First Appellate Authority under the RTI Act.
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The Central Information Commission (CIC) then directed the BCCI to voluntarily disclose information under Section 4 of the RTI Act and also to reply in detail to the RTI petitioner. However, the BCCI went to the Madras High Court against the verdict.
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The court sent the matter back to the CIC for reconsideration in September last year. The court said that in the case of BCCI v. Cricket Association of Bihar Supreme CourtLet the legal situation be re-examined in view of the comments of
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