da bet sport： The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Thursday told the DelhiHigh Court that cricketer Ajay Jadeja, banned for five years on matchfixing charges, cannot claim any relief for violation of fundamentalrights as the Board has power to take
12-Jul-2001The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Thursday told the DelhiHigh Court that cricketer Ajay Jadeja, banned for five years on matchfixing charges, cannot claim any relief for violation of fundamentalrights as the Board has power to take action against a player for”misconduct” even on suspicion.”If the BCCI finds that the condcut of a player is not good, then hecannot be considered for selection in the team though he might be anicon. The Board can suspend a player if there is suspicion ofmisconduct against him even if there is no hard evidence,” BCCIcounsel Kapil Sibal told Justice Mukul Mudgal, while hearing Jadeja’spetition, challenging the ban.Asserting that the Board was not performing any of the functions ofthe state, Sibal said the team selected by BCCI to play matches withforeign teams, “does not represent India as a state but is a BCCI teamrepresenting India.”Since the Board was not performing any of the state’s functions,Jadeja could not claim any relief under Article 226 of theConstitution, Sibal said, adding his petition was liable to bedismissed. “He cannot even claim any damage through civil suit as theBCCI has no contract with him at present,” he said.The contract with a player is always signed by the Board after he isselected in a team for a particular season either to play Test matchesor one-dayers in the country or abroad, Sibal said adding that theBCCI rules were clear on this.However, Jadeja’s counsel PP Malhotra said the BCCI could not shirkthe responsibility of performing the duty of a state so far as themanagment of the game of cricket was concerned. “The team bears theIndian flag and players’ badges also suffice that they representIndia,” he said.