IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA C.W.J.C. No.986 of 2011 Bihar Cricket Association (a body affiliated to Board of Control for Cricket in India) situated at Palika Market, Ashok Raj Path, P.S.-Pirbahore, District-Patna, through its Honorary Secretary Sri Ajay Narayan Sharma, S/o Late Kumar Narayan Sharma, resident of Chaudhary Tola, P.O.- Mahendru, P.S.- Sultanganj, District- Patna. …… Petitioner. Versus 1. Bank of India, having its Head Office at Star House, C-5 ―G-Block‖, Bandra- Kurla Complex, Mumbai-400041 through its Chairman. 2. The Chairman, Bank of India, Head Office at Star House, C-5 ―G-Block‖, Bandra- Kurla Complex, Mumbai-400041. 3. The Zonal Manager, Bank of India, Chanakya Place, R-Block, Patna-800 001. 4. The Chief Manager, Bank of India, Secretariat Branch, P.S. Sachivalaya, District-Patna. 5. Ram Kumar, son of Late Jagdish Prasad, resident of House No.99, new SBI Colony, P.S. Digha, P.O.-Digha, District-Patna at present, Member, Adhoc Committee, Bihar Cricket Association, Patna. 6. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Centre, D Road Churchgate, Mumbai through its Secretary. 7. Mahesh Kumar Agrawal C/o Hotel President, Fraser Road, Patna 800 001. 8. Shushil Kumar Agrawal R/o Arya Kumar Road, Rajendra Nagar, Patna. 9. Mumtazuddin Syed, R/o Tin Kothia, Muzaffarpur 842001. 10. Kumar Shivesh C/o Sri Munnilal (I.A.S) House No.156A, Ambedkar Path, Bailey Road, Patna 800 014. 11. Syed Imtiazuddin, C/o Syed Mumtazuddin, Tin Kothia, Muzaffarpur 842001. 12. Alok Raj, MIG-352, Kankarbagh, Patna 800 020. 13. Patna District Cricket Association through its President Amar Nath Singh, son of Mohalla- R.K. Avenue, P.S.-Rajendra Nagar, Patna. 14. Banka District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Vishnu Kumar alias Vishnu Kumar Chakravarti, son of Late Sant Kumar Chakravarti, resident of Mohalla- Ward No.22 Jagatpur, P.S. – Banka, District- Banka. 15. Gopalganj District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Tribhuwan Prasad Singh, son of Sri Kailash Singh, resident of mohalla- Marwari Mohalla, P.S. Gopalganj, District-Gopalganj. 16. Munger District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Shankar Deo Choudhary, son of Late Ram Prasad Choudhary, resident of Mohalla- Lal Darwaja, Geeta Babu Road, P.S. & District-Munger. 17. Arwal District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Ddharm Vir Patwardhan, son of Sri Vinod Kumar, resident of Jhunathi, P.S.- Kinjar, District-Arwal. 18. Supaul District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Prof. Sri Shashi Bhushan Singh, son of Sri Ravindra Prasad Singh, resident of Dakshin Hath Khola Road, Patel Chowk, Ward No.10, District-Supaul. 19. Lakhisarai District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Jai Shankar Singh, son of Late Brajkishore Singh, resident of P.O.- Patnear, P.S.- Lakhisarai, District-Lakhisarai. 20. Vaishali District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Ravindra Prasad Singh, son of Late Bramha Nand Singh, resident of Near Veer Kumar Singh Colony, P.S.- Hajipur, Sadar, District-Vaishali. - 2 - 21. Muzaffarpur District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Ravi Shankar Sharma, son of Late Braj Bhushan Sharma, resident of J.K. Colony, Mithanpura, Ramna, P.O. & P.S.- Muzaffarpur, District-Muzaffarpur. 22. Bhojpur District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Rajiv Kumar, son of Late Prof. Dasrath Pandey, resident of Shanti Kutir, Maharaja Hata, P.S.-Arrah, District-Bhojpur. 23. Jehanabad District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Binod Kumar Singh, son of Sri Rajeshwari Prasad Singh, P.O.- Unta, Jehanabad, P.S. & District-Jehanabad. 24. Araria District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Dilip Kumar Jha, son of Late Govind Kant Jha, resident of Shivpuri, Ward No.9, P.S.-Araria, District-Araria. 25. Sheohar District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Shishir Kumar son of Sri Shishir Kumar son of Sri Sitaram Singh, Vill + Post- Fatahpur, P.S. – Sheohar, Distrtict- Sheohar. 26. Madhubani District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Subir Chandara Mishra, son of Late Prof. Ram Chand Mishra, resident of Kamakhya Niwas, Sri Ram Kutir, Veena Kunj Ward No.9, P.S. & District- Madhubani. 27. Begusarai District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Sanjay Kumar Singh, son of Suresh Prasad Singh, resident of Dak Bunglow Chowk, Near East of Basic School, Sarvoday Nagar, P.S. & District- Begusarai. 28. Sitamarhi District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Shyam Kishor Singh, son of Sone Lall Bhagat, resident of Amghatta Road, Dumra Ward No.2, P.S.- Dumra, District Sitamarhi. 29. Jamui District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Rajesh Kumar Singh, son of Late Balmiki Prasad Singh, resident of Garhwa Katauna, P.S. & District- Jamui. 30. Samastipur District Cricket Association through its Secretary Sri Ranjeet Kumar Singh, son of Ganesh Prasad Singh, resident of Dwarika Bhawan, near West of Civil Court, Ward No.11, Kasipur, P.S. & District-Samastipur. 31. Buxar District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Durga Prasad Verma, son of Late Agnu Prasad Verma, Bangla Ghat, P.S. & District- Buxar. 32. Nalanda District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Anand Kumar son of Ram Prasad Sinha, resident of Mohalla- Bhaisasur, Dhaneshwar Ghat Road, P.S.-Biharsharif, District-Nalanda. 33. Khagaria District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Sadanand Prasad, son of Late Ayodhya Prasad, Post Office Road, P.S. & District-Khagaria. 34. Bhagalpur District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Anand Kumar Mishra, son of Late Veda Nand Mishra, resident of Aditi Telecom India, Adampur Chowk, P.S. & District-Bhagalpur. 35. Katihar District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Rajeev Kumar Jaiswal, son of Sabir Kumar Jaiswal, resident of Gosal Chal, P.S. & District-Katihar. 36. Saran District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Sunil Kumar Singh son of Sri Thakur Prasad Singh, resident of Ramlila Matiya Bhagwan Bazar, P.S.-Bhagwan Bazar, District- Saran. 37. Gaya District Cricket Association through its Secretary Shaligram Singh, son of Prof. Ram Sharan Singh, resident of Mohala- Rai Bahadur Kashi Nath Chowk, Swarajpuri Road, P.S.-Gaya Sadar, Gaya. 38. Aurangabad District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary, Ravindra Kumar, son of Sri Raghunandan Singh, resident of Mohalla- Sampat Lok, Adarsh Colony, P.S.-Aurangabad, District-Aurangabad. - 3 - 39. Madhupura District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh, son of Late Chandrika Prasad Singh, resident of Mohalla- Station Road, P.S. & District-Madhepura. 40. Kishanganj District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Sri Shamim Ahmad, son of Late Md. Naimuddin, resident of Mohalla- Civil Court, P.S. & District-Kishanganj. 41. East Champaran, District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Shreeprakash Choudhary, son of Late Satyadeo Prasad Choudhary, resident of Main Road, P.S. & District-Motihari. 42. Siwan District Cricket Association through its Honorary Secretary Quaisher Jamal, son of Sri Monirul Haque, resident of Janta Lodge, Station Road, Near Sishwan More, P.S. & District-Siwan. …… Respondents. ------------ For the petitioner : Mr. Naresh Kumar Malhotra, Senior Advocate with Mr. Binod Kumar Sinha, Advocate. For respondent nos.1 to 4 : Mr. Binay Kumar Sinha & R.S. Vidyarthi, Advocates. For respondent no.5 : Mr. Shakil Ahmad Khan, Senior Advocate with Mr. Suraj Samdarshi, Advocate. For respondent no.6 : Mr. Jitendra Singh, Senior Advocate with Mr. Rajiv Kumar Singh, Advocate. For respondent nos. 7, 9, : Mr. Satyabir Bharti, Advocate. 10, 11 & 12. For respondent nos. 13 to 42 : Mr. Sanjay Singh, Advocate with Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, Advocate. For intervenor-applicant : Mr. K.D.Chatterjee, Senior Advocate with Association of Bihar Cricket M/s Rajesh Ranjan, Sanjeev Kumar Mishra, represented through its Advocates. Secretary Mithilesh Tiwari. (I.A.No.3026 of 2011) ---------- P R E S E N T HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE S. N. HUSSAIN O R D E R 22/ 20. 09.2011 This writ has been filed by the Bihar Cricket Association (hereinafter referred to as the ‗BCA‘ for the sake of brevity) which is a body affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (hereinafter referred to as the ‗BCCI‘ for the - 4 - sake of brevity) through Sri Ajay Narayan Sharma claiming to be its honorary Secretary. 2. In the instant writ petition, originally only the Bank of India and its authorities were impleaded as respondents nos. 1 to 4, because the relief claimed by the petitioner was for a direction to the Chief Manager of the Bank of India to allow the petitioner to operate Account No.442910110002030 of the BCA as the said authority was creating hindrances. 3. I.A.No.784 of 2011 was filed by one Ram Kumar claiming to be a member of the Ad hoc Committee of BCA which, according to him, was the real BCA and not the Committee claimed by the petitioner. The said interlocutory application was allowed by this court vide order dated 14.02.2011 and he was directed to be added as respondent no.5 to the writ petition. 4. When the case was taken up on 28.02.2011, learned counsel for the petitioner stated that since the petitioner- BCA was affiliated to the BCCI the latter was a necessary party for this writ petition and sought permission to implead the BCCI. Accordingly, this court allowed the said prayer and directed the BCCI to be added as respondent no.6 to the writ petition. 5. When the case was taken up on 21.04.2011, respondent no.5 stated that there were six life members of the BCA and they were necessary to be impleaded as parties to this writ petition. On the other hand, the petitioner produced a list of 14 life members, out of whom six were the same as mentioned by respondent no.5 and the remaining had no connection left with the BCA as either they had become life members of the Jharkhand Cricket Association or had become disinterested as claimed by respondent no.5. Hence, the said six life members of BCA as claimed by respondent no.5 were directed to be added as respondent nos. 7 to 12 to the writ petition vide order dated 21.04.2011. 6. I.A.No.2570 of 2011 has been filed by 24 of the Districts Cricket Associations for various Districts Cricket Associations (hereinafter referred to as - 5 - the ‗DCA‘ for the sake of brevity) under the BCA. I.A.No.3436 of 2011 has been filed by six of the District Cricket Associations for various districts under BCA. Hence, 30 of the 38 DCAs have appeared praying for being added as parties respondents to the instant writ petition. No other DCA has appeared contesting the claims of the aforesaid 30 DCAs. The DCAs represent each of the districts and are constituents of BCA, as according to the Rules they elect the Management Committee of the BCA along with life members of BCA. In the said circumstances, the aforesaid 30 intervenors-applicants are necessary parties to this writ petition as the life members have already been impleaded as respondents nos. 7 to 12 at the instance of respondent no.5. Accordingly, the aforesaid two interlocutory applications bearing I.A.No.2570 of 2011 and I.A.No.3436 of 2011 are allowed and all the 30 applicatns- DCAs are directed to be impleaded as respondent nos. 13 to 42 to this writ petition. 7. I.A.No.3026 of 2011 has been filed by the Association of Bihar Cricket through its Secretary Sri Mithilesh Tiwari for being added as intervenor- respondent in the instant writ petition. Learned counsel for the intervenor had submitted that I.G. Registration, Govt. of Bihar had cancelled the registration of BCA vide order dated 12.12.2008, but the said order was set aside by the Member, Board of Revenue vide order dated 29.04.2009 passed in Appeal No.57 of 2009 filed by the BCA. He also stated that against the appellate order CWJC No.6650 of 2009 was filed which was referred to Division Bench where it is pending along with LPA No.425 of 2010, CWJC No.13668 of 2009, CWJC No.6652 of 2009, CWJC No.6650 of 2006, CWJC No.7117 of 2009, CWJC No.2012 of 2009 and CWJC No.7491 of 2008 which were heard together on 13.05.2010 and are still pending. Hence, he claimed that unless the said cases are decided by the Division Bench, this writ petition cannot proceed. He also stated that Association of Cricket of Bihar is vitally associated with the welfare of the game and is also interested that the fund given by the BCCI is not frittered away by the office bearers of the B.C.A. - 6 - 8. So far the aforesaid cases pending in this court are concerned, it was found by this court vide order dated 12.05.2011 that before deciding the said interlocutory application of the Association of Bihar Cricket it was proper to look into the files of the aforesaid cases to ascertain as to whether the said cases or any of them had any effect on the present case. Records of the aforesaid cases were called for and from a perusal of the same this court found that the said cases were with respect to different matters altogether, not at all connected with the instant writ petition, which is, in fact, a dispute between the two factions claiming to be the real BCA which could operate the account of BCA in Bank of India. 9. With respect to the applicants of the above mentioned I.A.No.3026 of 2011, learned counsel for the BCCI stated that it did not recognize Association of Bihar Cricket or any such Association, except BCA. He also stated that BCCI had granted recognition to the BCA of the erstwhile original State of Bihar before its re-organisation in the year 2000 and even after the bifurcation of Jharkhand from the State of Bihar, the BCCI granted recognition to BCA, Patna. Hence, learned counsel for the BCCI as well as learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel for respondent nos. 13 to 42 averred that the Association of Bihar Cricket has no manner of concern with the instant matter, which is an issue either between the two factions of BCA or between the BCA and the BCCI. In the said circumstances, this court finds that the Association of Bihar Cricket has no manner of concern with this matter and it is not even a proper party much less a necessary party for the instant writ petition. Accordingly, I.A.No.3026 of 2011 is hereby rejected. 10. When this case was taken up on 27.06.2011, learned counsel for all the parties prayed that this case be placed for final hearing on 05.07.2011. Thereafter on 19.07.2011 also learned counsel for all the parties prayed that this case be heard and decided at that stage itself. Hence hearing of the writ petition started on 19.07.2011 and continued till 23.08.2011 when arguments of learned - 7 - counsel for all the respondents and learned counsel for the interveners were concluded and learned counsel for the petitioner also placed his argument in reply. 11. On the merit of the writ petition, learned counsel for the petitioner claimed that before bifurcation of State of Jharkhand from the State of Bihar there was one BCA covering both the areas having its head office at Jamshedpur, which had 14 life members and a large number of DCAs covering all the districts of the erstwhile State of Bihar. However, after bifurcation of the States of Bihar and Jharkhand on 15.11.2000 under the Bihar Re-organization Act, 2000, a special general meeting of the erstwhile BCA was held at Jamshedpur on 07.01.2001 which decided that two separate committees should be formed for which the application must reach the BCCI before 31.03.2002. Thereafter another special general meeting was held on 18.03.2001 for preparation of two drafts of the two new Associations, namely Jharkhand Cricket Association and Bihar Cricket Association. Hence, two Cricket Associations, one for Jharkhand and the other for Bihar, namely Jharkhand Cricket Association and Bihar Cricket Association, were formed which were subsequently recognized by the BCCI. 12. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that on 09.04.2001, the Electoral Officer issued notification for holding the election of office bearers of the new BCA having its head office at Patna on 19/20th May, 2001, whereafter the election was duly held on 20.05.2001 and the Committee of Management/ office bearers for the BCA, Patna was formed. It was also stated by learned counsel for the petitioner that second election was duly held on 21.06.2005 and a fresh Committee of Management/ office bearers was selected. The next election was due after three years, but instead of election, a consensus Managing Committee was formed in 2008 in which Sri Lalu Prasad was the President and Sri Ajay Narayan Sharma was its Honorary Secretary. Learned counsel for the petitioner also claimed that till March, 2010 there was no dispute between the parties to the writ petition, all of - 8 - whom have clearly admitted the aforesaid facts as the dispute had arisen only thereafter. 13. Learned counsel for the petitioner averred that election of the BCA was due in the year 2010 and hence notice dated 18.03.2010 (Annexure-1) was issued by the President of the BCA (Sri Lalu Prasad) calling Annual General Meeting on 04.04.2010 for transaction of several businesses, including election of office bearers/ Committee of Management of BCA for the years 2010-12 and pursuant thereto the Honorary Secretary of the Association (Sri Ajay Narayan Sharma) issued notice of the same date dated 18.03.2010 (Annexure-2) for the said election. The agenda attached to the said notice was, inter alia, for electing the office bearers and other members of the Committee of Management. The Electoral Officer (Sri Rajendra Prasad) also issued election notice on the same date, i.e. 18.03.2010 (Annexure-3), whereas the Honorary Secretary of BCA Sri Ajay Narayan Sharma intimated the Presidents/ Honorary Secretaries of all the District Units as well as the members of the BCA about the said election vide letter dated 18.03.2010 (Annexure-4). It is also averred that subsequently on 03.04.2010 (Annexure-5) an office order was issued by the President of the BCA (Sri Lalu Prasad) postponing the schedule of election till fixing of a fresh schedule of election by the competent authority on the ground that some protests/objections on election notice had been filed by some members of the BCA. 14. Learned counsel for the petitioner further stated that thereafter no fresh schedule of any election was issued by any of the parties and vide notice dated 30.06.2010 (Annexure-6), the President of the BCA (Sri Lalu Prasad) dissolved the existing Committee of Management and office bearers with immediate effect for improving efficiency and to have total transparency in the working of the office bearers and the Committee of Management and also appointed an Ad hoc Committee of Management for discharging the functions of the Committee of Management as per clause 9 of the said Rules & Regulations of - 9 - BCA and also to conduct fresh election of the office bearers and Committee of Management within six months under clause 13 thereof. The said Ad hoc Committee included Sri Lalu Prasad as its Chairman and Sri Abdu Bari Siddiqui as its Convener and Sri Alok Raj, Sri Ajay Narayan Sharma, Sri Syed Saba Karim, Sri Ram Kumar, Sri Amikar Dayal, Sri R.S.P.Singh, Sri Dilip Singh, Sri P.N.Sinha, Sri Mritunjay Tiwari, Sri Praveen Kumar and Sri Rama Shankar Prasad as members, giving office address of the Ad Hoc Committee as 151, Kautilya Nagar (M.L.A. Colony) P.O.- Bihar Veterinary College, Khajepura, Patna – 800 014, which was a government quarter given to Sri Abdul Bari Siddiqui. 15. It was also claimed by learned counsel for the petitioner that on 18/28.07.2010 (Annexure-7) various District Units submitted their memorandum to the President of the BCA unanimously rejecting the formation of the Ad hoc Committee as illegal and resolving that the earlier Managing Committee of the BCA was constitutionally valid and should be allowed to work until the next election is held for which the President of the BCA (Sri Lalu Prasad) had already issued notices dated 18.03.2010 and 03.04.2010 and requesting to immediately convene AGM of the original Managing Committee to conduct the elections of the members of the Committee of Management. Thereafter requisition dated 13.08.2010 (Annexure-8) was sent by the District Units and members of the Association to the Honorary Secretary of BCA (Sri Ajay Narayan Sharma) for convening special general meeting of BCA for discussing different matters as well as AGM under clause 21(a) (III) of BCA Rules & Regulations. In view of the aforesaid memorandum and requisition of the District Units and members of the BCA, the Honorary Secretary of the BCA (Sri Ajay Narayan Sharma) issued notice dated 14.08.2010 (Annexure-9) for holding a Special General Meeting of BCA on 22.08.2010 for, inter alia, discussing and fixing the venue, date and time for holding Annual General Meeting/election of the office bearers and Committee of Management for BCA. - 10 - 16. Learned counsel for the petitioner further averred that accordingly Special General Meeting of BCA was held on 22.08.2010 (Annexure- 10) under the Chairmanship of the Vice-President of BCA (Sri Ram Chandra Prasad) in which it was resolved that Annual General Meeting of BCA would be held on 12.09.2010. It was also resolved to condemn the illegal formation of the so- called Ad hoc Committee and to reject all the actions taken by the Ad hoc Committee and also to continue the function of the existing Committee of Management of BCA till the next election, which was to be held under the supervision of three-member Committee, namely Sri Parmanand Sinha, Sri Neeraj Singh and Shri Dharma Veer Patvardhan. Accordingly, a notice was also issued to all affiliated members of BCA by its Honorary Secretary (Sri Ajay Narayan Sharma) on 23.08.2010 (Annexure-11) informing them that Annual General Meeting of the BCA will be held on 12.09.2010. Similarly, the Chairman of the Electoral Committee Sri Parmanand Sinha issued election notice dated 23.08.2010 (Annexure-12) with respect to various posts of BCA for which election was going to be held. Accordingly, Annual General Meeting for BCA was held on 12.09.2010 (Annexure-13) at Hotel Maurya, Patna in which representatives of 34 District Units and 16 members of BCA including, respondent nos.9 and 11, participated and they elected Mr. Binod Kumar as President and Sri Ajay Narayan Sharma as Honorary Secretary and Sri Ravi Shankar Prasad Singh as Honorary Treasurer, apart from five Vice Presidents and nine other members of the BCA. 17. Learned counsel for the petitioner stressed the point that the said election in the AGM of BCA dated 12.09.2010 has never been challenged by anybody till date and the Committee selected in the AGM is continuing having its office at Palika Market, Ashok Raj Path, Patna. He also claimed that the information of the new Committee of Management of BCA along with minutes of AGM and the list of office bearers were given to the Chief Manager of the Bank of India, Secretariat Branch, Patna (respondent no.4) by the Honorary Secretary along - 11 - with attested signatures of the Honorary Secretary and the Honorary Treasurer who were entitled to operate the account of BCA in the said Branch. Thereafter, a reminder dated 06.01.2011 (Annexure-15) was sent by the Honorary Secretary (Sri Ajay Narayan Sharma) to the said authority of the Bank for allowing the elected office bearers to operate the accounts. It is alleged that even after all these steps, the respondents-authority of the Bank did not allow the petitioner to operate its Account No.442910110002030 in the said Bank, which was absolutely illegal and was clearly at the instance of the alleged President and Convener of the illegally formed Ad hoc Committee merely to continue the political clout of the erstwhile President who had also been the Chief Minister of the State earlier. 18. Learned counsel for respondent nos. 13 to 42, claiming to be the office bearers of 30 District Units of the BCA, supported the claim of the petitioner. He stated that he is representing 30 out of 38 District Cricket Associations and these District Units along with other District Units and members of the BCA had elected the new Committee of Management of BCA on 12.09.2010 in accordance with the procedure prescribed in the Rules and Regulations of the BCA which provides that such elected Committee of Management has to hold office until a new Committee is duly constituted by the general body in its AGM going to be held after three years. 19. Learned counsel for respondents nos. 13 to 42 submitted that up till 14.03.2010 there was no dispute between the President, Vice President, Honorary Secretary and the members of the BCA and they