The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to stay the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections scheduled for 11:30 a.m., but directed that the results be kept in a sealed cover pending further adjudication.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana passed the order while hearing a plea filed by Megha Gaur, alleging the complete exclusion of women from the RCA’s electoral process.
Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for Gaur and identifying herself as a former Indian woman cricketer, submitted that the electoral roll contained “not a single woman voter” or woman candidate. She argued that this was contrary to the RCA’s 2022 Rules, particularly Article 17, its constitution, the National Sports Code and related judicial orders.
Guruswamy also alleged that the existing management was seeking to push through the elections with undue haste. Referring to the recent success of the Indian women’s cricket team, she submitted that excluding women from the electoral process in Rajasthan was contrary to constitutional principles and the promotion of women’s participation in sport.
She further argued that the absence of women voters on the electoral roll effectively prevented women from contesting the elections.
The Bench allowed the voting to proceed as scheduled, though Justice Bagchi clarified that the results would be withheld pending the Court’s final decision on the matter.
Counsel appearing for the RCA and the State submitted that the Rajasthan High Court had appointed the Home Secretary as Administrator of the RCA for conducting the elections. The Court was also informed that an earlier Special Leave Petition challenging the relevant High Court order had been dismissed, while the specific issues raised by the petitioner remained pending before the High Court.
The counsel also referred to the Rajasthan Cricket Association Act in support of the ongoing electoral process.
The Supreme Court accordingly permitted the elections to be held as scheduled but directed that the results should not be declared and must be kept in a sealed cover.
The Bench requested the Rajasthan High Court to take up the main matter and the interlocutory application on the next date of hearing and decide them expeditiously.
The petitioner was also granted liberty to move an interlocutory application in the pending matter concerning the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) before the Supreme Court, with the issues to be tagged accordingly.
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