The Rajasthan High Court has appointed Bhaskar Sawant, Additional Secretary Home as administrator of Rajasthan Cricket Association after suspending the ad hoc committee of RCA with immediate effect.
Sawant will handle the administrative functions of the RCA and proceed with the procedure as per the rules. Sawant had earlier served as Sports Secretary and Chairman of Rajasthan State Sports Council.
Amid a long dispute, the High Court pronounced a major judgement on Wednesday. The case was heard by the bench of acting Chief Justice S. P. Sharma.
Following the judgement, the Under-19 cricket tournament, which was due to start on July 6, has been postponed.
The court on Wednesday heard the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Rajiv Pratap Singh. The petition alleged that the ad hoc committee of the RCA was constituted on 29 June 2024 only as an interim arrangement. It was given the responsibility of holding elections within 3 months.
The petitioner apprised the court that elections were not held in the stipulated time. Instead, the committee's term was repeatedly extended, which prevented the formation of an elected executive in the RCA. This was said to be contrary to the prior orders of the court and the spirit of the administrative process.
During the hearing, the High Court took the matter seriously and also sought a response from the Registrar of Cooperatives.
The court asked why contempt action should not be taken against him, as the elections were not held despite the time limit and the ad hoc system continued continuously.
Piyush Nag, counsel for the petitioner Rajeev Pratap, said that the tenure of the ad hoc committee should have been for only 3 months. But this committee was working for two and a half years.
The counsel said that the Court has asked Sawant to release the RCA's electoral schedule by the last week of July. This will allow the pending election to be organised immediately.
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