Bat for the better, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• The Central Information Commission (CIC) recently decided to exclude the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from the RTI Act.
• The decision reverses an earlier ruling by former Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu, who declared the BCCI a public authority.
• The Supreme Court in 2015-16 stated that the BCCI performs public duties while adopting the Lodha Committee recommendations.
• The Law Commission in 2018 noted the BCCI functions as a National Sports Federation and received tax exemptions of ₹2,100 crore between 1997-2007.

Detailed Insights:

• The RTI Act was designed to scrutinize the state, but the BCCI has tested this limit due to its power and status as a private commercial body without direct public funding.
• Including the BCCI under the RTI Act could expose competitive information, compromise governance flexibility, and risk political forces abusing transparency requirements.
• The BCCI benefits from national symbolism, police deployment, concessional land, state hospitality, public stadium infrastructure, and regulatory privileges due to its monopoly.
• The core issue revolves around whether the BCCI can be considered under state control or financing, as defined by Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.
• The Madras High Court stayed the order that had previously declared the BCCI to be a public authority under Section 2(h).
• Amending Section 2(h) to include bodies discharging public duties, especially with monopoly power, could resolve the contradiction while protecting the BCCI’s commercial interests.
• Courts should treat tax exemptions as a form of state grant when determining whether an organization falls under the purview of the RTI Act.

Key Concepts Involved:

• RTI Act: An act to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities.
• National Sports Federation: A non-governmental organization recognized by its National Olympic Committee as administering one or more sports at national level.
• Monopoly: Exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market, or a control that makes possible the manipulation of prices.