The BCCI’s ethics officer and retired Supreme Court Judge DK Jain has issued a notice to Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) President, Rupa Gurunath on the basis of ‘conflict of interest’. Rupa Gurunath, Director of India Cements, is the daughter of N. Srinivasan and the wife of Gurunath Meiyappan.
Gurunath was elected as TNCA President in September 2019 when she became the first lady board President of a state cricket association in India. She is also the Director of India Cements, the parent company of IPL’s franchise Chennai Superkings.
The BCCI notice, dated December 8, states,“Take notice that a complaint has been received by the Ethics Officer of the BCCI under Article 39 of the Rules and Regulations of the BCCI, regarding certain acts, allegedly constituting as conflict of interest on your part.”
According to the new BCCI constitution, no individual can occupy more than one post in the cricket board or state association. If someone abides by the rule, he/she would be alleged on conflict of interest. Earlier, Indian cricketers including Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and Kapil Dev all were in a position of conflict.
The Ethics officer has given Rupa Gurunath the deadline of December 24 to file a written response supported by duly executed affidavit. If she fails to do so, the ethics officer shall be constrained to proceed in her absence, without giving any further opportunity to file a response.
As per the new BCCI constitution of 2018, TNCA’s strongman Srinivasan and his family members are ineligible to hold positions in a state association. Tamil Nadu and Haryana’s state board have always refused to follow the new rules which were recommended by the Justice RM Lodha committee.