New Delhi: Four top officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Tuesday approached the Supreme Court against Calcutta High Court's order to put them on trial for allegedly lying to it to justify removal of a board member in December 2006.

BCCI president Shashank Manohar, secretary N. Srinivasan, his predecessor Niranjan Shah, and junior cricket committee chairman Chirayu Amin approached the apex court close on the heels of Union Agriculture Minister and then BCCI president Sharad Pawar, whose prosecution has also been ordered for lying on the issue of Jagmohan Dalmiya's ouster.

The high court Nov 12 also ordered prosecution of BCCI's Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty, but he is yet to approach the apex court.

The BCCI had expelled Dalmiya on December 16, 2006, on charges of financial irregularities and he was also forced to resign from the post of president of the Cricket Association of Bengal.

Dalmiya subsequently challenged his ouster in the Calcutta High Court, questioning the legality of the rule on the basis of which he was removed.

The BCCI, through an affidavit, told the high court that it expelled Dalmiya under a new rule mandating the panel to take punitive measures against its erring members.

To justify the legality of the rule, the board told the court that as per the requisite provisions, it was duly registered with the Tamil Nadu Registrar of Societies.

Dalmiya, however, contended before the high court that the rule had not been registered in time. He claimed the BCCI had placed forged documents before the high court to show that it had got exemption to surpass the time limit for the registration of the rule.

The BCCI had wrongly claimed to have received permission from the Tamil Nadu Societies Registrar to register the new rule at a later date, he said.

An amendment must be registered within three months, but in this case an application seeking exemption for the delay was filed six years after the amendment was made in September 2000, he contended.

Upholding Dalmiya's contention, the high court termed his expulsion as illegal and held that the BCCI had filed forged documents and a false affidavit to justify his ouster from the board.

Dalmiya then sought prosecution of Pawar and five other BCCI officials on charges of perjury, which the court granted on Nov 12.

 

Source : IANS