Judicial Oversight & Selective Cleansing
MS Shanker
When the rot in the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) became too deep for internal repair, the matter spilled into the courts. What followed was a series of judicial interventions — Ombudsmen, Supervisory Committees, and Single-Member Inquiries — each tasked with cleansing an association drowning in corruption. Yet, despite all these high-powered efforts, the outcome has been half-cleaning at best and selective cleansing at worst.
It began with the appointment of Justice Deepak Verma, a retired Supreme Court judge, as Ombudsman and Ethics Officer on 6 June 2020. His job was simple in theory but impossible in practice: to enforce ethical standards in a body where ethics had long been auctioned off. Predictably, his appointment triggered resistance. The Additional Chief Judge of the City Civil Court, Hyderabad, suspended his order on 17 November 2020. The Telangana High Court, however, set aside that suspension in April 2021. But even this did not end the wrangling. The matter was pushed further up the judicial ladder and is still pending before the Supreme Court as SLP Nos. 6779 and 6819 of 2021.
The legal chess game only reinforced the obvious — HCA was so politically charged and corrupt that even the appointment of an Ombudsman turned into a drawn-out courtroom battle.
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Recognizing the stalemate, the Supreme Court intervened directly on 22 August 2022. It constituted a Supervisory Committee comprising Justice Nisar Ahmad Kakru (former Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court), Anjani Kumar, Vanka Prathap, and S.L. Venkatapati Raju (former Indian cricketer). Their mandate was to stabilize the HCA and bring order to its management. But once again, the committee struggled against entrenched interests and endless infighting.
Then came the most significant step: on 14 February 2023, the Supreme Court appointed Justice L. Nageswara Rao as a Single-Member Committee with sweeping powers. Rao was tasked with cutting through the deadlock, addressing the pending issues, and — most importantly — ensuring that fair and transparent elections were held.
Justice Rao threw himself into the task. He met stakeholders across the board: former cricketers, past office-bearers, member associations, IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, and ordinary cricket lovers. The feedback was unanimous: HCA was a cesspool of mismanagement, corruption, and neglect. Its administration had not only robbed the coffers but dragged the game itself into mediocrity.
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To his credit, Justice Rao identified the root of much of the rot: conflict of interest. For years, powerful individuals had controlled multiple clubs, giving themselves disproportionate voting clout. Rao cracked down, suspending as many as 57 clubs found violating the conflict-of-interest clause. On paper, this was a bold step — a long overdue strike at the nexus of politics and cricket.
But here lies the controversy. While dozens of clubs were suspended, some of the most influential figures were mysteriously spared. Former India off-spinner Shivlal Yadav, a man whose name has loomed large over HCA politics for decades, escaped action. So did Dalit Singh, the current Acting President of HCA, who not only reportedly controls two teams but also managed to get himself elected as Vice President. His close associate, a former official from the state’s commercial department, was conveniently installed as Joint Secretary through another club.
This selective enforcement has raised uncomfortable questions. Did Justice Rao overlook these names deliberately? Or was he misled by his aide, police officer Durga Prasad, who handled ground-level verifications? In an association where every stone hides a scandal, even the judiciary’s attempts at cleansing risk being compromised by insider manipulation.
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The fallout of this selective cleansing is serious. The credibility of reforms stands weakened. For many observers, Rao’s report looks like a surgical strike that stopped short of the main targets. By sparing a few big names, the clean-up left behind a festering wound — the very perception that justice is not equal when it comes to powerful insiders.
Meanwhile, the criminal investigations against the HCA’s recent office-bearers have intensified. Several members of the Apex Council, including the President, Secretary, and Treasurer, remain in judicial custody after their arrest by the state CID in connection with the IPL T20 scam. Against this backdrop, Justice Rao’s report becomes doubly important: it is not merely an academic exercise but a potential roadmap for investigators probing the misuse of HCA funds.
The irony is hard to miss. Hyderabad cricket, once celebrated for producing elegant batsmen and gifted bowlers, now produces judicial orders, forensic audits, and criminal FIRs. Committees and commissions have replaced selection camps. Instead of talent-spotting, the association is under scam-spotting.
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Justice Rao’s 59-page report is a reminder of both hope and failure. Hope, because it boldly exposed conflicts of interest and suspended dozens of clubs. Failure, because it spared the most influential insiders, raising doubts about whether real accountability will ever come.
For investigators, this report is a trail of leads. For fans, it is a bitter confirmation that their beloved game was betrayed not by outsiders but by those who claimed to be its guardians.
In the next episode, we turn to the forensic bombshell — the Ernst & Young audit, a damning ledger of inflated bills, phantom works, and shameless loot. If Rao’s report exposed conflicts of interest, the EY audit exposes daylight robbery. Together, they form a charge sheet that can no longer be ignored. (To be concluded)
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