Justice Mukul Mudgal, retired Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the incumbent head of FIFA governance committee today called for the Justice R.M. Lodha Committee reforms—applied by Supreme Court to the Board of Control for Cricket in India—to be applied to all sports federations in India.
Justice Mudgal was speaking at the Sports Law and Policy Symposium 2018 in New Delhi. Mudgal had chaired the Supreme Court-appointed committee to investigate betting, spot-fixing and conflict of interests in the Indian Premier League, which further led to the apex court appointing former Chief Justice of India Justice R.M. Lodha-led three-member committee to propose changes in the structure and administration of cricket in India. Participating in a panel discussion on What next for Sports Governance in India, which included Beijing Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, Mudgal said on Supreme Court’s recent rulings on BCCI: “It’s a welcome step. I hope Supreme Court goes further and applies it on all sports bodies in India.”
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The latest order was delivered with modifications in One State One Vote and tenure clause on August 9. Interestingly, a petition by 28 former Olympians and cricketers to implement the Lodha reforms in all sports bodies was made to the Supreme Court. The petitioners are now awaiting an order on their plea.
One of the disqualification criteria as outlined by the Supreme Court in the latest order is that individuals elected as office-bearers in one sports body are not eligible to hold a post in another. This particular clause will have far reaching impact on non-cricket bodies.
Speaking on the status of sports administration in India, Abhinav Bindra, too, batted for reforms and players’ voice to be heard, given that professional management does not exist in most sports bodies. On whether the courts should be allowed to step in for changing the system, Bindra said, “Change will not happen till its mandated. Otherwise, I will have to wait for my grandchildren to win another gold medal for India!”
Bindra was recently elected to the International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission.