Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has imposed strict curbs on the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), restricting it from making any financial or administrative decisions until further notice.
TCA seeks CBI investigation
The interim order, issued on Monday, April 20, allows only payments related to staff salaries and day-to-day expenses, while any other decisions or transactions must follow due procedure. A bench led by Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy passed the order while hearing a petition filed by the Telangana Cricket Association (TCA).
The petition sought a CBI investigation into alleged financial irregularities in the HCA.
The senior advocate Raja Sripathi Rao appeared on behalf of TCA, while HCA was represented by senior advocate J Ramchander Rao. Counsels from both the BCCI and CBI were present in court and raised no objections to the petition.
During the hearing, the TCA mentioned a series of serious concerns. It pointed out that the current HCA secretary, Devaraj, has been named in earlier cases involving the Anti-Corruption Bureau and is also mentioned in the E&Y forensic report outlining financial irregularities.
TCA also questioned the legitimacy of HCA president Jagan Mohan Rao’s election, noting that he represented Sri Chakra Cricket Club, which was disqualified in 2018 by HCA’s then-ombudsman Justice L Narasimha Reddy. Despite this, Rao contested and was declared elected without obtaining any superseding order, even though Sri Chakra was no longer a voting member.
Court notes HCA officials signing cheques without authorisation
The court also took note of the petitioner’s claim that the president, secretary, and treasurer of HCA have been signing cheques without proper authorisation. These developments add to mounting concerns over governance, especially since the High Court has already issued six different orders in one week against the HCA, including those related to illegal suspensions of players.
TCA counsel further argued that since HCA receives funds from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), local investigation agencies have been ineffective in probing corruption. He said a national agency like the CBI is better suited to investigate the financial irregularities and hold the responsible parties accountable.
The High Court has scheduled the next hearing in the matter for June 16.
