The main legal principle established in the judgment is that amendments to a constitution should align with the original purpose and intent of the constitution, ensuring that the amendments do not dilute the underlying objectives.

JUDGMENT :

Dr Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, J.

1. By the judgment of this Court in Board of Control for Cricket in India v Cricket Association of Bihar, (2018) 9 SCC 624, the draft Constitution of the Board of Control for Cricket in India²[“BCCI”] was approved. The Court stipulated that any amendment to the Constitution shall not be given effect to without the leave of the Court. Clause 45 of the Constitution, as approved, contains the following provision:

“These Rules and Regulations of the BCCI shall not be repealed, added to, amended or altered except when passed and adopted by a 3/4th majority of the members present and entitled to vote at a Special General Meeting of the General Body convened for the purpose or at the Annual General Meeting. Any such amendment will not be given effect to without the leave of the Hon’ble Supreme Court.”

2. On 1 December 2019, certain amendments were approved unanimously at the Annual General Meeting³[“AGM”].

3. An interim application has been filed for seeking the leave of the Court to give effect to the amendments. A reference to the relevant clauses which are proposed to be amended would be necessary.

4. Clause 6(4) of the existing Constitution contains the stipulation that an office bearer who has held any post for two consecutive terms either in a state association or in the BCCI or a combination of both shall not be eligible to contest any further election without completing a cooling off period of three years. During the cooling off period, there is a prohibition on an office bearer becoming a member of the Governing Council or of any committee of the BCCI or of a state association. The rationale for adopting a cooling off period was elaborated in Section C of the judgment of this Court. The rationale was explained in paragraph 35 of the judgment in the following terms:

“… A cooling-off period has several features which are of utmost importance:

(i) it is a safeguard against the development of vested personal interests;

(ii) it ensures against the concentration of power in a few hands;

(iii) it facilitates a dispersal of authority; and

(iv) it encourages the generation of a wider body of experienced administrators.

Cooling-off must be accepted as a means to prevent a few individuals from regarding the administration of cricket as a personal turf. The game will be better off without cricketing oligopolies.”

5. While explaining the proposed provision for a cooling off period after the completion of two consecutive terms, this Court provided the following illustrations:

“However, in our view, it would be appropriate to direct that a cooling-off period of three years would apply after an individual holds two successive terms in office either in BCCI, or in any State Association or a combination of the two. For instance, if an office-bearer has held office for two consecutive terms in any post in a State Association, such an individual must face a cooling-off period of three years. Likewise, if an individual has held any post as an office-bearer of BCCI for a total period of six years in succession, the individual must have a cooling-off period of three years before seeking election again either to BCCI or to a State Association. The cooling-off period would apply also in a situation where an individual holds a post for one term in a State Association followed by a post in BCCI successively or vice versa. This would ensure that after a period of six years involving two consecutive terms, a cooling-off period would be attracted. Allowing an individual to act as an office-bearer for six years in continuation, is a sufficiently long period for experience and knowledge gained to be deployed in the interest of the game without at the same time resulting in a monopoly of power.”

6. An amendment of Clause 6.4 has been proposed on the ground that the BCCI undertakes its activities both at the national and in