Ex-Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association life member Sanjeev Gupta, who sought implementation of the Justice Lodha reforms at BCCI, withdraws all 21 complaints, citing a recent ugly incident
Justice RM Lodha. Pic/Getty Images
Sanjeev Gupta has decided to withdraw all his pending 21 complaints before the BCCI ombudsman-cum-ethics officer Vineet Saran. In an email to the BCCI ombudsman (a copy of which is with mid-day), Gupta cited an “unforeseen ugly incidence (sic)” that occurred on August 20 which “deteriorated” his health “drastically”.
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The incident has led to Gupta abruptly ending his six-and-a-half years of, “selfless, pure intent for letter and spirit compliance” of the Justice Lodha reforms accepted by the Supreme Court of India “to safeguard” his “health and life.”
“It is humbly submitted that in view of the above, in compulsion, I withdrew my long pending 21 factual/precise complaints,” he wrote in the email.
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Nothing at stake
He added: “It is humbly submitted that [there is] nothing for me to attain and nothing of mine was at stake. It was [the] Supreme Court of India’s verdicts, sanctity and compliance [which] was at stake, for which I selflessly, without any vested interest, combated day-in-and-day-out since January 4, 2016 when Lodha Committee submitted their Lodha reforms report to [the] Supreme Court of India.
“I entered with empty hands on 4th Jan 2016 with sole pure intent of compliance of Supreme Court verdicts and on 20 August 2022 I exit with empty hands only, but [not without] unlimited barbaric perpetual act of insult, threat, humiliations, harassments [and] atrocities done with me to stop me from noble intent of compliance of Supreme Court verdicts.”
Gupta, a former pharmaceutical professional, gave up on his prestigious life membership of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) in order to wage a lone battle for total compliance of the Supreme Court verdicts.
He boasted a nearly 100 per cent success rate in getting the verdicts in his favour in complaints filed till now.
Conflict complaints
Gupta has never shied away from filing any complaint irrespective of stature. Some of the big personalities against whom he has filed conflict of interest complaints include Sourav Ganguly (current BCCI president and former India captain), Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. Some of his pending complaints were against Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Nita Ambani. Earlier this month, Mumbai Indians owner Ambani, was served a notice by the BCCI ombudsman to respond to the conflict of interest complaint over IPL media rights.
Gupta did not give interviews in the media and did not permit any pictures of his to be published. He even managed to escape the media while appearing in a conflict of interest complaint at a five-star hotel in south Mumbai.
Often, it was construed that Gupta, a stickler for rules, was anti-cricketers for filing conflict complaints against them. He, however, advocated for other implementation of the reforms in equal measure. Disqualification, term tenure, cooling off period, transparency and financial discipline were among the subjects he often highlighted in his emails.
The BCCI constitution was something he knew thoroughly. “I can recite [the] BCCI Constitution at any time without reading any tinniest piece of papers, since it is immense tyaag (sacrifice), tapasya (penance) and sadhana (dedication) for the last six and a half years. I stay away from media, glamour [as] they were never my cup of tea. I am a very low profile person and will exit this world low profile only (sic),” Gupta said in one of his emails to the BCCI.
Efforts to get Gupta to respond to his ‘retirement’ of sorts went in vain.
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