Defying Supreme Court verdict, JKCA elects sports minister Imran Ansari as president

New Delhi: Defying the Supreme Court Lodha committee recommendations, JKCA has elected state sports minister as the president of cricket association on Tuesday.

In a historical verdict, the two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and Justice Ibrahim Kallifullah, on Monday accepted most of the recommendations made by the Lodha Committee.

The court said the recommendations were binding not just on the BCCI, but also on the state associations, and both had up to six months to implement the recommendations. And one of the recommendations made by the panel is that "no minister or serving bureaucrat can be member of the BCCI board".

According to a report in The Indian Express, state sports minister Imran Ansari was elected as the president of Jammu Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) in an election held star hotel in Jammu.

The report added that Ansari, however, dismissed suggestions that his election to the post of JKCA president was in violation of Supreme Court orders, claiming that the Lodha committee recommendations are to be implemented in six months’ time.

Besides, the election was conducted despite the court of Munsif Sub Registrar, Srinagar, restraining JKCA from electing its new office-bearers following a petition filed by United Cricket Club. The hearing is scheduled for July 25.

Former bureaucrat and senior PDP leader Mehboob Iqbal was elected chairman of JKCA, businessman Iqbal Shah was elected general secretary while former cricketer Abdul Rouf became the treasurer.