How has the BCCI resisted RTI scrutiny?
The Central Information Commission (CIC) recently ruled that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not a 'public authority' under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, and therefore cannot be directed to furnish information. The BCCI has consistently argued it is a private, autonomous body registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975, and does not fall under the definition of 'State' as per Article 12 of the Constitution, nor is it 'substantially financed' by the government. This decision overturns an earlier CIC ruling from 2018 and relies on Supreme Court precedents like the Zee Telefilms Ltd. case (2005). Recommendations from bodies like the Justice R.M. Lodha Committee and the Law Commission to bring sports bodies, including BCCI, under RTI have not been legislated.
The Central Information Commission (CIC) recently ruled that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not a 'public authority' under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, and therefore cannot be directed to furnish information. The BCCI has consistently argued it is a private, autonomous body registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975, and does not fall under the definition of 'State' as per Article 12 of the Constitution, nor is it 'substantially financed' by the government. This decision overturns an earlier CIC ruling from 2018 and relies on Supreme Court precedents like the Zee Telefilms Ltd. case (2005). Recommendations from bodies like the Justice R.M. Lodha Committee and the Law Commission to bring sports bodies, including BCCI, under RTI have not been legislated.
Exam linkage
GS Paper II - Indian Polity and Governance: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies; Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation; Fundamental Rights.
Syllabus mapping
This topic appears in Mains
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