BCCI to challenge Central Information Commission’s decision to bring board under RTI

The 2005 RTI rule passed by Supreme Court was a path-breaking one as far as administrative transparency is concerned and as a result, all the working of high-profile organizations came under the ambit. However, BCCI has always been vocal enough to not come under the rule as they have maintained that the organization is a society registered in Tamil Nadu and does not receive any government funds. The major reason of their opposition, which is actually the derivation of the first point, is that agreeing to come under RTI would mean they will be treated as a public authority and not a private entity. 

BCCI’s opposition eventually found the support of CoA too as Vinod Rai revealed that the board has already informed the CIC that the matter will be challenged legally. The decision came after the board asked for some more time but M Sridhar Acharyulu, the CIC commissioner, declined that request and imposed the order. 

"The BCCI will seek a stay on the order of the CIC. We have been practising transparency and we have been totally transparent in absolutely everything we are doing. Except for details of team meetings, minutes of team selections, information regarding injury to players, anti-doping process and details concerning anti-corruption investigations, we are trying to put all other details on the BCCI website," Rai told ESPNcricinfo.

In the defense of their decision, CIC had mentioned that BCCI should be listed as a National Sports Federation (NSF) and they spelt out sections of the Law Commission of India, that recently had concluded that the BCCI was virtually an NSF. The Law Commission had also added that despite it playing a "monopolistic" in the regulation of cricket, the BCCI had been "flying under the radar" of public scrutiny and should come under RTI.

"In the absence of effective self-regulation and non-applicability of public law to scrutinise and review the functioning of the sports body, the necessity of public scrutiny arose and the only way for that is through the RTI Act," CIC had said.