Last updated:
Sports Governance Bill: The National Sports Administration Bill has been passed in Parliament. All sports associations will be under the purview of ITI, but the BCCI will be out of it. Questions are being raised on this.
BCCI will not be subject to the law of any country like RTI.All recognized sports organizations which depend on government financing and assistance will come under the Right to Information Act, 2005 regarding the use of their actions, duties and powers. This ensures that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which is not dependent on the grant of the Ministry, will not come under the purview of this bill. Because he does not get any direct financial assistance from the government.
Jairam Ramesh raised questions
According to the Indian Express, General Secretary in -charge of Congress Communication Affairs and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh posted on X that as a result of the proposed law, ‘Sports administration will be highly centralized’ and ‘BCCI will get the most preferred status and will not be subject to any country’s law like RTI’. The world’s richest Cricket Board has opposed the label being labeled as a public authority over the years, while the Supreme Court, Law Commission and Central Information Commission (CIC) have recommended to bring it under the purview of India’s transparency law.
The proposed law will recognize national sports bodies and regulate their functioning. The sports administration in India will be made in accordance with the Olympic, Paralympic Charter and international best practices. Its purpose is to bring transparency and accountability in National Sports Federations and open opportunities for hosting, cooperation and financing. Since cricket will soon become an Olympic game, it is necessary for the government to bring the BCCI under the purview of the proposed law. Section 15 (2) of the bill introduced in the Lok Sabha on 23 July said that “the recognized sports organization will be considered a public authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005 regarding the use of its actions, duties and powers.” This broad definition will also include BCCI and from team selection to contracting its entire functioning will be open for public inquiry.
However, the amendment made later in the draft stated that a recognized sports organization that receives grants or any other financial assistance from the government would be considered as a public authority only regarding the use of such grants or any other financial assistance. With this change, government funding was made the only criteria to consider a sports institution as a public authority. Due to which the BCCI was effectively out of the purview of the RTI Act.
The BCCI has long been arguing that it is a private, autonomous organization and not a public authority. Actually, it is not a sports federation under the Union Sports Ministry. Legally it is an autonomous charitable institution registered under the Tamil Nadu Society Registration Act, 1975. It does not take financial assistance directly from the government. However, the BCCI’s position that its financial and organizational freedom from the state keeps him out of the regulatory structure of the government for public bodies has been opposed by several judicial and semi-judicial bodies.
Bringing the BCCI under the RTI Act will mean that any citizen of India will be able to get information related to not only financial matters, but the entire scope of the operation of the board. Janata will be able to ask for information about the criteria, broadcasting and infrastructure of team selection, details of contracts, appointment process of officers and coaches and details of BCCI meetings. With this, the board will be forced to justify its decisions not only in front of its constituent members, but also to the general public. In its 2015 judgment, the Supreme Court had said that even though the BCCI is not a state institution, it comes under the right jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. Because it does public work. This means that if the work of BCCI is found to be arbitrary or against public interest, then the High Court can intervene in its cases.
What will be the powers of the bill
According to the Bill, any sports organization which wants to use the word ‘India’ or ‘Indian’ or ‘National’ or any national mark or symbol will have to get a no objection certificate from the central government. If the central government considers it necessary in the public interest, then it will have the right to relax in any provision mentioned in the bill. Apart from this, the government can also give such instructions to the National Sports Board or any other person or institution for the efficient administration of the provisions of this bill. The government will also have the right to impose proper restrictions on the participation of any national team of any national team of sports related to exceptional circumstances and in the national interest.
