BCCI will remain out of the purview of RTI: Central Information Commission’s big decision, what is its meaning?

The Central Information Commission has ruled that BCCI does not come under the purview of RTI Act. The Commission said that the Board is not dependent on government control or funding and is completely financially independent. Reversing the historic decision of 2018, CIC considered the Board of Control for Cricket in India as a private institution.

CIC Decision on BCCI RTI Case: A major legal decision related to Indian cricket administration came to light. The Central Information Commission has made it clear that the Board of Control for Cricket in India does not come under the purview of the Right to Information Act. After this decision, the world’s richest cricket board will no longer be obliged to make information public under the Right to Information Act.

This decision was announced by Information Commissioner PR Ramesh. With this, the long dispute going on since 2018 also ended. In fact, in the year 2018, the then Information Commissioner M Sridhar had considered BCCI as a public authority under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act and directed the board to appoint a Public Information Officer. However, BCCI challenged this decision in Madras High Court.

BCCI will not come under RTI ambit
Later the court sent the case to CIC for re-hearing. Now in the new hearing, the Commission said that BCCI does not fulfill the conditions of ‘public authority’ prescribed in the Right to Information Act.

The Commission said in its decision that BCCI is an organization registered under the Tamil Nadu Society Registration Act. It has neither been created under the Constitution nor established through any Act of Parliament.

Big decision of Central Information Commission
CIC cited many important reasons in its decision. According to the Commission, the government does not have any deep or comprehensive control over the functioning of BCCI. The Board takes its own decisions and is administratively independent. The second major reason was said to be his economic self-reliance. The Commission said that BCCI earns its own money from media rights, sponsorship and ticket sales. It is not dependent on government funding.

It was also made clear in the decision that tax exemption or facilities provided under the law cannot be considered as government funding. Therefore BCCI cannot be called a government aided institution.

Also mentioned about IPL and Indian market
In its decision, the Commission also mentioned the financial strength of BCCI and the success of the Indian Premier League. The Commission said that BCCI has now become the economic center of global cricket and its strength comes from the Indian market and IPL. Information Commissioner P.R. Ramesh said that merely increasing government control does not guarantee transparency. He believed that transparency and accountability in such large and business structures can be brought about by a better regulatory system.

The case started when an RTI application was filed with the Sports Ministry. The ministry had replied that it did not have the information sought and could not transfer the application to BCCI as the board is a private organization. Now after this decision of the Central Information Commission, it has become clear that to bring BCCI under the ambit of RTI, a new law or a special government order will have to be brought in the Parliament.