Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has quashed the lifetime ban imposed on former Kerala Ranji Trophy cricketer Santhosh Karunakaran by the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA). A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta allowed the special leave petition (SLP) filed by Karunakaran against the 2021 rulings of the Kerala High Court, which had dismissed his writ petition and subsequent appeal.
The cricketer had originally approached the Ombudsman-cum-Ethics Officer in 2019, requesting implementation of model byelaws in all District Cricket Associations (DCAs) of Kerala as recommended by the Justice R.M. Lodha Committee and adopted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The Ombudsman rejected Karunakaran’s plea on October 3, 2020, citing his failure to implead the DCAs as parties in the case, despite repeated directions. Karunakaran moved the Kerala High Court challenging this decision, arguing that the Ombudsman’s proceedings were absolutely non-transparent and he was never informed about those specific directions.
Both the single judge as well as the division bench of the Kerala High Court dismissed Karunakaran’s petitions, holding that he had approached the court with “unclean hands” and purportedly concealed material facts. Following the High Court’s dismissal of Karunakaran’s pleas, the KCA issued a show-cause notice under its bye-laws.
In August 2021, the KCA imposed a lifetime ban, blacklisting Karunakaran from all its activities and stripping him of his rights and privileges as a registered member of the Thiruvananthapuram DCA. In its judgment, the Supreme Court agreed with Karunakaran’s contention that the proceedings before the Ombudsman lacked transparency and that he was not provided with the relevant records. Notably, Karunakaran had written to the Ombudsman requesting access to a copy of all records of the proceedings in the original application, but his request was denied on the grounds that the Ombudsman is a “persona designata” and not a court of record.
