Delhi HC Rejects Plea To Curtail DDCA Ombudsman’s Authority
Justice Asha Menon refused to pass any order on a plea filed by Sanjay Bhardwaj and the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) to restrict ombudsman Justice (retired) Deepak Verma’s authority.
The Delhi High Court decided against passing an interim order to eliminate the DDCA ombudsman and curb his authority with regards to the affair of the state cricket unit or its members, the Indian Express reported today.
Justice Asha Menon refused to pass any order on a plea filed by Sanjay Bhardwaj and the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) that asked to restrict ombudsman Justice (retired) Deepak Verma’s authority. The court also rejected the application that seeks direction for “removal/replacement of the current Ombudsman.”
“As objections to the capacity of the applicant to move an application on behalf of the DDCA have been raised and it has not been possible to hear all the counsel for the parties on the said aspect, it is considered appropriate to grant an opportunity to all parties to file their responses to both the applications,” stated the order.
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“Let responses to the applications be filed through email by the non-applicants within a period of two weeks with advance copy to the counsel for the applicants, who may file rejoinders thereto, within one week thereafter with copies to the respective counsel for the non-applicants through their respective emails,” the statement further added.
Justice Menon and Senior advocate Kapil Sibal at the hearing of the matter had submitted an order stating that, as the General Secretary Vinod Tihara is currently in prison -- and therefore not in a position to sign cheques -- the order passed on March 13 by the High Court needs altercation.
The courts however noted that, since an alternative “S N Sharma has also been authorised to sign the cheques, no further directions need to be issued at this juncture.”
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However, the court also ordered the email sent to the Registrar General of the High Court by DDCA Ombudsman Justice Verma to be put on record.
In his letter to the High Court, Justice Verma had asked the court for the appointment of an administrator to run the conflict-ridden state unit while citing financial irregularities and wilful contempt of orders passed by him and the court.
The letter stated that once the administrator is appointed, it would supersede the Apex Council of the DDCA. The ombudsman, having received information about fraudulent contractor deals from two members of the Apex council, issued directives to stop the payment of Rs 34 lakh to the contractor. The directive noted that relevant documents were not produced, including a copy of the original agreement signed on December 10, 2019.
The Ombudsman and the members of the council have been in dispute over the suspension of four officials and the condition of the state cricket unit’s standing council.
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