‘BCCI not under RTI Act’: CIC warns overlapping government control could disrupt ‘delicately balanced’ economic structure

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) logo

NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission (CIC) on Monday amended its 2018 order and ruled that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not fall under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The Commission dismissed an appeal filed before the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in 2017 seeking information regarding the provisions/guidelines under which the BCCI represents India and selects players for national and international cricket tournaments and also raised questions regarding the authority vested in the BCCI by the Government of India.In the order accessed by TOI, the CIC also observed that it is not appropriate to assume that increased government oversight is strengthening the functioning of the BCCI. She warned that overlapping government control could risk “upsetting the delicately balanced economic structure”.The Commission also pointed out that the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Lodha Committee’s reform recommendations on transparency in sports administration were only advisory in nature and “could not override the express statutory framework contained in Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.The matter was taken up again after the Madras High Court in September last year referred the CIC’s earlier October 2018 order for a fresh decision. In 2018, the CIC held BCCI as a public authority under the RTI Act and directed the then President, Secretary and Committee of Administrators (CoA) to appoint information officers and put in place a system of online and offline mechanisms to receive requests for information under the RTI Act. The order also issued several other directions against the BCCI. The cricket board subsequently challenged the order in the Madras High Court. The commission clarified that the Supreme Court had not declared BCCI a “public authority” under the RTI Act.In its new order handed down by Information Commissioner PR Ramesh, the CIC said, “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not fall within the ambit of ‘public authority’ under Section 2(c). h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 and is therefore not subject to the provisions of the RTI Act.The CIC order cited that BCCI is a company registered under the Tamil Nadu Companies Registration Act. “The BCCI is neither established under the Constitution nor created by any Act passed by the Parliament or the State Legislature. The Commission further noted that the BCCI has not been established by any Government Notification or Executive Order,” the order said.Apart from stating that the government has no role in the appointment of office bearers and the inner workings of the board, the commission further noted the financial independence of the BCCI as the board generates its income through media rights, sponsorships, broadcast arrangements, ticket sales and other commercial activities. The regulation also stated that tax exemptions offered to the board could not be construed as government funding. “Tax exemptions or statutory reliefs generally available under the Act cannot be considered as ‘substantial funding’ by the Government within the meaning of the RTI Act,” the order said.“India’s Cricket Ecosystem A Compelling Illustration”CIC decided to address the assumptions that increased government oversight was sufficient for the organization to function. According to the commission, this assumption “takes undue account of the complexity of modern economic institutions”.The CIC also highlighted the efficient economic model that the BCCI has managed to create through the IPL, which now powers the global cricket economy.“It may not be appropriate to assume that increased government oversight would in itself improve the functioning or fairness of institutions such as the BCCI,” the order notes. “Overlaying a model of oversight based solely on government control may fail to account for these realities and could risk unintended consequences, including inefficiency or disruption of the delicately balanced economic fabric,” he added.“Legislative and executive interventions—however well-intentioned—have occasionally produced results marked by inefficiency, exclusion, or distortion due to problems in implementation, lack of contextual sensitivity, or concentration of authority,” the commission said.“The cricket ecosystem in India is a compelling case in point. The evolution of the BCCI from a colonial-era administrative body to the financial epicenter of global cricket reflects one of the most significant transformations in the current sporting economy. Unlike many national sports organizations that are heavily dependent on government support, the BCCI operates as a largely autonomous, market-driven entity with revenues in the tens of thousands.“At the heart of this economic structure lies the Indian Premier League, whose franchise model and media rights regime have redefined the financial architecture of sport,” he added.According to CIC, this kind of complex ecosystem could not be achieved by any administrative oversight. “This complex and high-value ecosystem demonstrates that the functioning of such an organization is shaped not only by administrative oversight, but also by a complex interplay of market forces, contractual arrangements, and international business dynamics.”