Azharuddin disqualified from HCA elections for being president of a cricket club
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Hyderabad: Former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin has been disqualified from contesting the upcoming Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) elections, as the Supreme Court-appointed committee cited conflict of interest as the reason for removing him from the list of voters.
The decision of the Supreme Court-appointed committee, led by former Supreme Court Judge Justice L. Nageswara Rao, was based on an order passed on July 31, 2023, which stated that individuals holding positions in multiple clubs were disqualified from participating in HCA elections for a term of three years.
Azharuddin, who served as the president of both HCA and Deccan Blues Cricket Club simultaneously, found himself at the centre of this controversy.
A letter addressed to Azharuddin from Justice Nageswara Rao explained the disqualification, stating that the former cricket star was not included in the voters' list due to his role as the president of Deccan Blues Cricket Club.
The controversy dates back to September 30, 2022, when a supervisory committee appointed by the Supreme Court instructed Azharuddin to collect information about registered clubs affiliated with the HCA. A subsequent letter from the Deccan Blues Cricket Club in October 2022 identified Azharuddin as its president.
The HCA elections, originally scheduled for September 2022 but postponed due to legal issues, are set to take place on October 20, 2023. Electoral officer V.S. Sampath issued the notification on September 30, initiating the process for electing key positions, including president, vice-president, secretary, joint secretary, treasurer, and councillor.
In February of the current year, the Supreme Court appointed Justice Nageswara Rao as a single-member committee to oversee the HCA and ensure the smooth conduct of elections. In a separate move in July, Justice Rao disqualified more than 57 clubs from participating in the elections for three years due to conflicts of interest or owning multiple clubs.