Today, On 22nd July, The Delhi High Court scheduled a hearing for Kirti Azad’s plea regarding the appointment of a DDCA administrator on August 1. Azad’s petition challenges the current appointment process within the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court, On Monday, scheduled a hearing for August 1 on a petition filed by former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad.
The petition seeks the appointment of an administrator to manage the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) and requests a revision of the DDCA Electoral Roll based on a one-family-one-vote principle, followed by new elections.
Read Also: Delhi HC Seeks Clarity from Centre on WFI Management, After IOA Committee Dissolution
Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain listed the matter for consideration on August 1, 2024. Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, representing the petitioner, requested that the case be transferred to the Division Bench as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
Previously, the predecessor bench had asked all respondents for their responses. Azad’s plea calls for the DDCA to implement a transparent membership system, including a clear waiting list, to eliminate the current ad-hoc system.
The petition also argues that only those who have paid their Club Subscription Fees on time should be allowed to vote in the elections. According to the petitioner, the current membership process lacks guidelines or criteria and is dominated by the arbitrary decisions of DDCA officials. This system is alleged to foster a family monopoly by selectively granting memberships, as stated in the plea.
Kirti Azad accused DDCA officials of exploiting the current membership process, or the lack thereof, to their advantage by appointing their relatives to various official positions within the association. He alleges that some members have even enrolled their household staff as members of DDCA.
Additionally, he claims that fraudulent voting practices occur within the DDCA, with the continued existence of some members never being verified. This leads to the election of candidates through illegal and unfair methods, allowing a few individuals to maintain a tight grip on the club’s affairs.
Azad’s petition further asserts that this control by a few families led to corruption and nepotism in the selection of teams representing Delhi State, resulting in deserving candidates being excluded from the team.
Read Also: Supreme Court Intervenes in West Bengal’s Vice-Chancellor Appointments Dispute
The petition highlights that the Delhi Team’s poor performance in the Indian cricket scene, including early eliminations in tournaments like the Vijay Merchant Trophy, Vinoo Mankad Trophy, Cooch Behar Trophy, C.K. Nayudu Trophy, Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, is a direct result of corrupt practices in team selection. To address this issue, the petition calls for the implementation of a fair membership system.
Additionally, it suggests restricting voting to one vote per family among existing members to prevent DDCA positions from becoming permanent power posts and to eliminate the monopoly held by a few individuals.