4 months ago
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The Bombay High Court has stayed elections to the apex assembly of the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) scheduled for Tuesday (January 6, 2026), questioning the mode successful which 400 caller members, including relatives of the incumbent president and NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, were inducted.
A Bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad noted that the mode successful which the full process of admittance of caller members was carried retired gave a "prima-facie content that everything was done successful a blistery haste." The bid came connected a clump of petitions claiming that norms laid down by the Supreme Court for the elections were violated, and determination was favouritism successful adding members to the voters' database released connected December 25, 2025.
The caller members see Rohit Pawar's woman Kunti and his father-in-law Satish Magar, and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule's girl Revati, the petition stated.
The petitioners, which see erstwhile cricketer Kedar Jadhav, alleged that galore of the caller members had thing to bash with cricket, and they were added lone truthful that immoderate radical could tally the MCA arsenic their backstage organisation.
The petitions challenged the predetermination process, terming it "illegal", and claimed determination was an "erroneous" inclusion of much than 400 voters successful the draught elector list. "Many of the caller members are related to the President and different office-bearers who are astatine the helm of affairs," the High Court noted successful the order.
The existing members had nary accidental to rise objections, and they were not provided entree to the minutes of the gathering of the Apex Council and Annual General Meeting, it added.
In presumption of the allegations of illegality, arbitrariness, and nepotism, the Court was entitled to analyse the decision-making process which led to the induction of 400 caller members, the judges said.
The Court besides raised doubts implicit the large-scale admittance of caller members earlier elections. The induction of 400 caller members would surely impact the election, it .added
"In the circumstances of the case, this Court cannot follow a hands-off basal and licence the elections scheduled connected January 6 to continue. The High Court should not licence the illegality to beryllium perpetuated," said the Division Bench, asking the electoral serviceman to not proceed with the predetermination until further orders.
The adjacent proceeding would beryllium conducted connected February 4, 2026. The Court besides noted that the entity of the MCA was to power and amended the prime and standards of cricket successful the State, to laic down policies, to physique stadiums of planetary standards, and truthful on.
“It was debatable whether a idiosyncratic tin go a beingness subordinate of the relation simply due to the fact that helium oregon she has donated funds towards cricket,” the HC said.
Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the MCA, had argued that the recently inducted members had made important contributions to the athletics by donating crores of rupees, and the rules and regulations of the MCA bash not mandate that lone a cricketer oregon a idiosyncratic associated with the athletics tin beryllium a member.
