Dalmiya expelled from BCCI

Jagmohan Dalmiya: accused of misappropriation of funds and a refusal to provide relevant accounts and documents © AFP

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the ICC, has been expelled from the Indian board in a decision taken at a meeting held in Jaipur. Dalmiya has been accused of misappropriation of funds and a refusal to provide the relevant accounts and documents pertaining to a few cases.

This means that Dalmiya cannot hold any post in the BCCI or its affiliates, and this includes the Cricket Association of Bengal and the National Cricket Club. At present he is the president of both these bodies. This also means that he cannot attend any BCCI meetings in an official capacity.

However, Dalmiya, who has always strongly denied the charges, told PTI after the expulsion that he had submitted a 46-page report which the disciplinary committee did not even read. "They did not even read it. They are all biased. There is no misappropriation. It is only their misinterpretation," he said

The meeting, chaired by Sharad Pawar, the president of the BCCI, discussed the report submitted by the disciplinary committee, which had earlier found Dalmiya guilty of misappropriation of funds in the PILCOM case. PILCOM was the joint committee comprising India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka that conducted the 1996 World Cup.

Dalmiya was invited to attend the special general meeting in Jaipur to present his case, but he chose not to attend, and nominated Saradindu Pal, the secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal, to represent him.

The resolution was adopted 29-2 against him. The Cricket Association of Bengal, of which he is the President, and the National Cricket Club, Kolkata, of which also he is the head voted in his support. Interestingly, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, once his loyalist, voted against him.

Dalmiya, 66, has been given the right to appeal after three years for inclusion in the Board, BCCI Media Committee member Rajiv Shukla said after the meeting.

"The issue of irregularities and refusal to provide relevant accounts and documents relate primarily to bank transactions of the Pakistan India Lanka Committee (PILCOM) formed for the 1996 World Cup," treasurer N. Srinivasan told Reuters. "There were other issues as well, like bringing the board to disrepute."

During his 45-minute submission before the general meeting, Dalmiya countered every charge levelled against him and also made a 21-page written submission before the body along with large number of annexures, his lawyer Pradip Agarwal, who had prepared the defence, told PTI.

Asked what could be next course of action for the former BCCI chief, Agarwal said, "the decision to expell will definitely be challenged in the court on several grounds and also on the ground of denying natural justice as Dalmiya was not allowed to speak after the decision."

In Kolkata, Dalmiya's rivals in the CAB demanded a Special General Body meeting to replace him as its president. Referring to rule 38 (B) of the BCCI constitution, CAB dissident group leader Raja Venkat said: "Anybody expelled from the board stands automatically barred from continuing in any capacity in an affiliate unit. Hence Dalmiya cannot continue as CAB president."

Terming the punitive action against Dalmiya as 'good for the game of cricket', Venkat told PTI: "Nobody has done as much damage to cricket, particularly in Bengal, as he has done."