With the polls conducted under an administrator appointed by the Rajasthan High Court, the Supreme Court has declined to entertain a challenge to the Rajasthan Cricket Association Elections and left the disputes over disbanded district bodies and electoral rolls to that Court.
New Delhi: Every contested issue in the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) election dispute, from its electoral rolls to the disbanding of district associations, will now be decided by the Rajasthan High Court, the Supreme Court having declined on Wednesday, November 4, to interfere in the association’s internal disputes [Rajendra Singh v. State of Rajasthan].
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana said High Courts are constitutional forums fully equipped to resolve such grievances, and refused to pre-empt the proceedings pending there.
Leaving it to the High Court
During the hearing, Justice Bagchi remarked orally:
“Let us not predict what the High Court will do. Let us not predict what the outcome will be. If the High Court errs, we are there. But let us not handhold the High Court. The High Court knows how to take a decision and what to do.”
The Bench said it had no reason to doubt that the High Court would give a fair hearing to all parties. It therefore relegated every pending contention, including the claims of the excluded district bodies and the challenge to the voter list, to the High Court for decision on merits.
It noted that the elections had been conducted under the supervision of an administrator appointed by the Rajasthan High Court, who engaged a former State Chief Election Commissioner as the electoral officer. That officer finalised the electoral rolls after deciding objections through reasoned, speaking orders. The Court also took note that the declaration of results had been kept in a sealed cover under an earlier Supreme Court direction concerning the absence of women’s representation in the association’s electoral and governance framework.
The Nagaur challenge
The plea was filed by Rajendra Singh Nandhu, Secretary of the Nagaur District Cricket Association, who challenged the manner in which the RCA’s electoral process was conducted. His counsel submitted that seven district cricket associations had been unilaterally disbanded and thereby shut out of the polls, and that appeals filed by the affected district bodies remained pending.
An independent Ombudsman, the petitioner argued, was essential to examine disputes over membership eligibility, affiliation and voting rights before the elections were concluded.
The Bench observed that whether State cricket associations are governed strictly by the framework flowing from the Justice Lodha Committee reforms or by later statutory enactments of the legislature remains an arguable question of law.
Why the order matters
Disputes over State cricket bodies have frequently been carried straight to the Supreme Court since the Lodha reforms. The order signals that where a High Court is already supervising an association’s elections through its own administrator, the apex court will not step in at an interim stage, and the remedy lies first before the High Court.
The Bench has expressed no view on the merits of the excluded district associations’ claims. Those questions, along with the larger issue of whether the Lodha framework or later State legislation governs the RCA, will now be decided by the Rajasthan High Court.
Case Title: Rajendra Singh v. State of Rajasthan
Bench: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana, Supreme Court of India
Date of Order: November 4, 2026