The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is one of the wealthiest sports governing bodies in the world. But for years, one simple question has remained unanswered: why is the BCCI not accountable to the public, which funds, watches, and sustains the game it controls? 

On May 18, the Central Information Commission (CIC) responded to this question.

The order came in response to a case filed in Delhi which demanded to understand how the BCCI works, the selection process of players, how stadiums and security is arranged, and if the government has any legal control over the administration of the game. 

The CIC ruled that the BCCI does not fall under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The public, it decided, has no formal right to know how the BCCI operates.

This ruling has sharpened the debate, rather than settle it. 

Over the past year, RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak, director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, filed four queries regarding the BCCI with the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Department of Personnel and Training, and the Central Board of Direct Taxes.

None of the authorities could explain why the BCCI remained exempt. 

Venkatesh argues that the CIC order is selective in how it interprets previous Supreme Court judgements, while ignoring recommendations of the Law Commission of India and decisions of the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports itself.

For years, the BCCI has operated in a way where public money and public interest converge, yet it remains outside the gambit of transparency. And the question of accountability is not merely procedural because while the body enjoys significant government concessions, tax exemptions, land subsidies, it is facing a trail of corruption allegations.

CIC’s controversial ruling

On May 18, Information Commissioner PR Ramesh ruled that, under Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, the BCCI does not qualify as a “public authority”.

According to the RTI Act’s definition, a “public authority” is a........

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