By IANS
Kolkata : Top cricket administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya rose like a phoenix Friday when the Calcutta High Court termed his suspension by the Indian cricket board illegal and ruled that he could contest any cricket body poll from anywhere in India. The board will appeal, but meanwhile Dalmiya has slapped a perjury case on it.
Dalmiya has filed a counter application to proceed against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials, including president Sharad Pawar, for misleading the court.
"I am happy with the verdict. Justice has prevailed," the 67-year-old former International Cricket Council (ICC) chief told IANS soon after the verdict was delivered.
Dalmiya was expelled by the BCCI on charges of fund misappropriation and then forced to resign as the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president last December. He had challenged the BCCI in Calcutta High Court and appealed that he be allowed to contest the polls.
The appeal was allowed.
Upholding Dalmiya's application against the expulsion and ban from the BCCI, as ordered by a committee headed by the BCI president Sharad Pawar last December, Justice Indira Banerjee observed that the rule under which Dalmiya was suspended was not registered and, as such was illegal. The judge said there was no bar on Dalmiya contesting any election of the BCCI or any of its affiliated units.
Justice Banerjee temporarily stayed Dalmiya's suspension, paving the way for him to contest the CAB elections hours before the deadline for filing nominations at 4 p.m. Friday.
But Dalmiya chose not to contest the polls this year.
"Suspension has been stayed for insufficient documents against Dalmiya presented by the BCCI," the judge stated.
Soon after Dalmiya filed a perjury case against BCCI before the court.
Dalmiya's counsel Arindam Banerjee said: "We have filed a perjury case against the board and the disciplinary committee members who had expelled Dalmiya."
A Dalmiya spokesman said: "He has filed an application against BCCI COO Ratnakar Shetty, president Sharad Pawar, secretary Niranjan Shah, vice-presidents Shasank Monohar and Chirau Amin and treasurer N. Srinivasan seeking permission to proceed criminally against them for committing perjury and forgery with an intention to mislead the honourable court."
Meanwhile, BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah, who was present in the court, told IANS: "We will appeal before a division bench for a stay on the verdict."
The verdict is likely to impact the CAB elections and its July 28 annual general meeting.
Dalmiya may have been out of cricket administration since he was expelled from BCCI, but even today he wields plenty of clout within CAB. The CAB's 121-vote electorate comprises a vote each from the 94 Kolkata-based clubs, 18 districts, eight universities and the Office Sports Federation.
The BCCI had expelled Dalmiya on Dec 16 last following allegations of his involvement in misappropriation of funds of the Pakistan-India-Lanka Committee (Pilcom), the organising body of the 1996 World Cup held in the subcontinent. Following his suspension, Dalmiya stepped down as CAB president, making way for Prasun Mukherjee, Kolkata's police commissioner, to be elected to the post unopposed.