Maha accountant general warns MCA of contempt if not invited to meeting

Representation picture

Accountant General of Maharashtra, Uday Shinde, who is nominated on the Apex Council of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), has said that not inviting him to attend meetings could lead to contempt of court.

Shinde, an Indian Audit and Account Service at the office of Principal Accountant General (Audit)-I in Mumbai, was not invited for MCA's Apex Council meeting on March 18 with the T20 Mumbai League franchises.

Shinde in his email to MCA has demanded a copy of the legal opinion which the association had sought regarding 'invitation to the nominees attendance in all meetings or only for specific matters'.

"During the discussion held on 11th February meeting, the Secretary confirmed the stand. In this regard I request the Secretary to kindly provide me a copy of the letter written to the legal advisor and duration in which such advise is sought," Shinde stated in his email, accessed by mid-day.

Shinde is surprised that the issue of restricting the nominees attendance in all or specific meetings took place in first place. "Article 14(2) of the MCA Constitution lays down in detail, the composition of the 17 members of the Apex Council and bestows, the responsibility of the governance, on the Apex Council as a whole. The CAG nominee have equal powers and voting rights at par with other 8 Councillors. Article 15 clearly mentions the governance structure and the role of the Apex council as a whole.

"Thus, the Apex Council functions, as one single body, to perform various functions mandated to it by the Constitution. The nominee members in Apex Council are at par with other elected members and are there to perform their mandated role," he stated.

Shinde reminded the MCA that the CAG nominee is appointed as "conscience keeper" in the governance of the cricket associations. "The Lodha committee would have never anticipated such a narrow interpretation of the constitution," he lamented. When contacted, Shinde refused to comment on his email.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates