MS Shanker
In yet another twist to the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s (HCA) continuing saga of controversy, Acting President Sardar Daljit Singh and Joint Secretary Basavaraju find themselves under a cloud.
The duo, part of the “leftover” Apex Council after the arrest of three key office-bearers — President, Secretary, and Treasurer — are now accused of violating the Justice Lodha Commission’s ‘conflict of interest’ norms, potentially rendering their administrative actions invalid.
The fresh allegations have been levelled by Acrylic Cricket Club Secretary, Chitti Sridhar, in a strongly worded three-page letter addressed to the High Court-appointed single-member committee headed by Justice Naveen Rao. Sridhar has sought to know what action the Ethics Officer, also appointed by the High Court, has taken on his earlier complaint against Daljit Singh and Basavaraju.
According to Sridhar, the two officials, despite the Apex Council being truncated and legally questionable after the arrests, have continued to function as if they hold full authority, conducting meetings, making appointments without a legitimate quorum, and allegedly favouring their associates.
Sridhar’s letter bluntly accuses Daljit Singh of owning and controlling two clubs — Khalsa Cricket Club and Ameerpet Cricket Club — in clear breach of Lodha panel rules. He claims that Daljit Singh paved the way for his former Commercial Tax Department friend, reasons best known to him, Basavaraju, to become an office-bearer in Ameerpet Cricket Club, and then ensured both contested and won the last HCA elections.
The alleged motive? To secure control over the development funds that the HCA distributes from the BCCI’s annual grants, money that Sridhar claims is being diverted for Daljit’s benefit. He further alleges that Daljit Singh and Basavaraju managed to have their names quietly removed from the official conflict-of-interest list, possibly through “unknown influence” and administrative manipulation.
Basavaraju, Sridhar points out, was also named in the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s (ACB) records in connection with graft cases but was later removed — a development that raises serious questions about his suitability for office. Sridhar has urged the CID to conduct a thorough investigation into how both officials’ names disappeared from the conflict-of-interest records.
To back his claims, Sridhar cites Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 4235 of 2014, which lays down strict compliance with conflict-of-interest rules. He also recalls that the court-appointed single-member committee had earlier suspended 57 club secretaries on these grounds, stating clearly that any other club secretary found guilty must also be removed.
The letter further accuses Daljit Singh and Basavaraju of making arbitrary administrative moves, including the controversial reinstatement of two members — Swarup and Roma Singh — whose removal had earlier been ordered by the Ethics Officer and Ombudsman. Sridhar argues that the acting duo has no legal right to overturn those decisions.
In his concluding appeal, Sridhar urges Justice Naveen Rao to examine his complaint impartially and take strict action against Daljit Singh and Basavaraju, warning that their continued presence in the Apex Council undermines both the credibility of the HCA and the spirit of the Lodha reforms.
The latest flare-up adds another chapter to the HCA’s ongoing governance crisis — one where politics, personal gain, and cricket continue to clash, leaving the game itself as the biggest casualty.
Also read: https://orangenews9.com/hcas-selective-cleanup-why-only-the-arrested-were-suspended/
