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The Supreme Court has questioned why the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its affiliated state associations should remain outside the ambit of the National Sports Governance Act, 2025. The intervention comes after years of judicial scrutiny of cricket administration and efforts to reform the functioning of the country's most powerful sporting body.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana raised the issue while hearing a batch of matters concerning the governance of the BCCI and its state units.

Supreme Court Questions BCCI's Exclusion

The court asked the cricketing bodies to explain why they should not be governed by the new sports legislation, which establishes a statutory framework for governance, ethics, elections, dispute resolution and accountability in recognised sports organisations.

The latest development reflects the Supreme Court's long-running involvement in cricket administration. The court has been dealing with BCCI-related litigation for more than a decade and had earlier stepped in to push structural reforms within the board.

The issue also brings the BCCI's existing constitution and the new legislation into focus. The board has its own governance framework, including provisions dealing with the tenure of office-bearers and cooling-off periods.

Lodha Committee Reforms Back In Focus

The Supreme Court had earlier appointed a committee headed by former Chief Justice R.M. Lodha to recommend reforms to BCCI administration. Those recommendations led to several changes concerning the board's structure, officials and tenure.

In September 2022, the court approved modifications to the BCCI constitution relating to the cooling-off requirements for office-bearers. The changes allowed an official to serve consecutive terms at the state association and BCCI levels before becoming subject to the cooling-off provision.

The National Sports Governance Act, meanwhile, creates a broader statutory framework for recognised sports bodies. It includes provisions concerning governance, athlete representation, ethics, elections and oversight, while also providing mechanisms for sports disputes and regulatory supervision.

The Supreme Court's latest questions could therefore have significant implications for the way the BCCI and its state associations are governed if the court ultimately determines that they should come under the new legislation.

The matter remains under judicial consideration, and the court's latest intervention does not itself mean that the BCCI has been brought under the Act.