Justice Lodha Committee
The apex court has said that it will no longer remain recommendations it they asks BCCI to implement them. Pictured: Retired Chief Justice of India, RM Lodha addresses a press conference in New Delhi, on July 14, 2015.IANS

The Lodha Committee, headed by Justice RM Lodha, had provided the BCCI with a number of recommendations in order to reform the functioning of the cricketing body. The Lodha Panel had stated earlier this year that if the cricket associations and the BCCI do not undergo reform, it will be difficult to have a clean administrative system. 

A number of cricket associations across the country had shown their discontent after reading the recommendations.

But now, the Supreme Court has ordered the cricket associations to follow the recommendations of the Lodha Panel. 

"Once BCCI is reformed it will go down the line and all cricket associations will have to reform itself if they want to associate with it. The committee constituted in wake of match-fixing and spot-fixing allegations was a serious exercise and not futile exercise," a bench at the apex court headed by Chief Justice T S. Thakur was quoted as saying by PTI. 

Justice F.M.I. Kalifulla, who is also a part of the bench, said that these steps were taken by a committee of experts. So the cricket associations cannot just refer to these as just another recommendation.

The bench ordered the BCCI to carry out most of the recommendations. "It will no longer remain just recommendations if we say it has to be implemented. It was called recommendations as some of the findings of the committee were implemented by BCCI during the deliberations itself and some were not implemented," Kalifulla said. 

A counsel appeared for the Haryana Cricket Associations and gave their objections to some of the recommendations suggested by the Lodha Panel. They specifically opposed the 70-year age cap for office bearers.

In reply to that statement of the counsel, the bench clearly stated that the age cap should be maintained and office bearers will have to make way for the others.

"Do you think that some office bearers in cricket bodies think are indispensable. Nobody is indispensable leave alone the cricket administrators. There should be time when you have to say enough is enough and pave way for others to take charge," the bench told Haryana Cricket Association.