Has Justice Markandey Katju become a BCCI mouthpiece?

In November 2014, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the Board of Control of Cricket in India. The apex court had accused the cricketing body of killing the game, which is considered a religion in the country.

Subsequently, it had taken the onus upon itself to clean the mess. At one point the apex court said: "You can be reformed under judicial orders unless you reform yourself."

The Lodha committee was formed in January 2015 by the Supreme Court after the Mudgal committee, which was appointed as an investigator into the IPL 2013 scandal, submitted its report.

This Committee had recommended sweeping reforms and an administrative shake-up at the troubled BCCI, suggesting that ministers be barred from occupying positions, a cap put on the age and tenure of the office-bearers and betting be legalised.

Among other suggestions were to bring the BCCI under the Right to Information Act, to have a CAG officer as a part of the BCCI auditors, that BCCI officials give up state unit post on election to the committee, etc.

This, expectedly, created panic within the BCCI.

It has appointed Justice Markandey Katju to interact with the Lodha panel.  The BCCI president, Anurag Thakur had said that Katju would be the "single point interface" for the board "to interact with the Lodha committee as well advise and guide" to understand the implications of the Lodha panel recommendations.

It's interesting that the BCCI appointed former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju is the head of a new panel despite the fact that it has an active legal cell chaired by PS Raman.

And what did Justice Katju do? He termed the Supreme Court verdict on BCCI reforms as "unconstitutional and illegal". He slammed the Lodha panel's recommendations as "bogus" and added that the apex court couldn't force the BCCI to accept the administrative reforms.

Also read: Shady IPL: Rot runs deeper than Tharoor, Praful Patel

Justice Katju said: "I have advised them (BCCI) to file a review petition before a larger bench. In this case, the Supreme Court outsourced a committee (referring to Lodha Committee) to decide on BCCI's punishment."

He even made a scathing personal attack at Chief Justice of India, TS Thakur, who headed the bench that gave the verdict.

In his blog, Justice Katju stated that Justice Thakur should not hear the cricketing body's review petition against the judgement since the CJI was bound to dismiss it.

So, far the role of Justice Katju seems to discredit Lodha Committee report, the Chief Justice of India and even the Supreme Court. Though he has been appointed as a single point interface for the BCCI to interact with the Justice Lodha but so far he hasn't been seen doing that.

The former SC judge seems to be working as a bully of the BCCI. His job seems to be simply and only to bat for the cricketing body and to bring disrepute to the Lodha panel and the SC.

Justice Katju may have become a tool for the BCCI, in its desperate attempt to resist changes suggested by the Supreme Court. But can BCCI succeed in its resistance? Can Justice Katju help the BCCI in maintaining status quo?

In 2011, then sports minister Ajay Maken brought a Bill to the cabinet - to clean up BCCI and to bring it under the purview of the RTI. Politicians with sports fiefs to guard have ganged up and successfully derailed this Bill.

Maken's cabinet colleagues such as Sharad Pawar, CP Joshi, Farooq Abdullah and Vilasrao Deshmukh, who were officer-bearers in the cricketing body, ensured that the Bill was killed.

Then, Ajay Maken was in a role of crusader. And against him were powerful ministers with big stakes in the BCCI.

Also read: BCCI's ego and Big B's tweet why Harsha Bhogle was kicked out

But today, campaigner for reform is the Supreme Court of India itself. And the BCCI has put a former judge of the same court against it.

Though every cricket lover of India wants a clean BCCI, will it happen?

Conventional wisdom suggests it will happen. But can BCCI bring out another googly or doosra to defy the Lodha committee?

Though the cricketing body is quite capable of that, but will it succeed again? Only time will answer this.