Controversy At Hyderabad Cricket Association's AGM Over The Appointment Of Ombudsman

Chaos erupted at the 85th annual general body meeting of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, as two rival groups appointed their own ombudsman. Hyderabad Cricket Association’s Vice-President John Manoj decided in consultation with his group. It was despite the Telangana High Court upholding the appointment of Justice Deepak Verma as the ombudsman and ethics officer.

According to a Times of India report, Hyderabad Cricket Association President Mohammad Azharuddin claimed to have confirmed Justice Verma’s appointment as an ombudsman via a voice vote on the issue. The former Indian captain chaired the meeting and asked to raise hands and corroborate the call. Post that, he adjourned the meeting and left with his supporters.

The same has not gone down well with the rival group, led by Hyderabad Cricket Association Vice-President and they continued the meeting, appointing Justice Kakru as the ombudsman. Justice Kakru has served as the Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court. The group also elected Justice T Meena Kumari.

John’s crew also forged a Cricket Advisory Committee that will feature MV Narasimha Rao, Shravanthi Naidu and Sudeep Tyagi. It also decided on sending former interim BCCI President Shivlal Yadav as a representative of HCA to the Indian cricket board. But Mohammad Azharuddin deemed such appointments as legal since it happened after he left and asserted that Justice Verma was the official ombudsman of the HCA.

The former Indian batsman also conceded that as the President of HCA, he remains the representative of the association to the BCCI and would write a complaint to them about the happenings at the AGM behind his back. Meanwhile, John defended the decisions in the meetings, saying that it occurred based on the majority votes since 120 members were still present after the President and his supporters left.

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