The ugly battle to wrest control of the BCCI plummeted to a new low on Wednesday when senior advocate Gopal Subramanium told the Supreme Court that the Board treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry had, allegedly, given multiple “death threats” to the Board’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Santosh Rangnekar.
Subramanium, the amicus curiae in the ongoing 2013-IPL betting-fixing case, sensationally disclosed that Rangnekar had alleged three “death threats” in an the email he sent to the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) and BCCI CEO Rahul Johri on October 11. The three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Mishra, then told Chaudhry to respond to the charge within two weeks. Subramanium said the CoA’s solicitor had given Rangnekar’s complaint to him.
Chaudhry, who was present in the court and was wearing a lawyer’s gown as he himself is a lawyer, expressed surprise at the allegation and completely denied all three incidents narrated by Rangnekar. After the hearing, he told reporters that it was the first time that he was being told about these threats. “The court has asked to me to respond and I will reply,” he told reporters outside Court No.1.
Both CEO Johri and Rangnekar, along with Chaudhry’s Executive Assistant Gaurav Virmani, were present in the court during the hearing. The bench fixed the next hearing in the second week of January.
“No office-bearer has any authority to administer threats to the CFO -- to say that he will be liquidated,” Subramanium told the bench. “If you were in Haryana, you would be evaporated by now,” he said. Chaudhry, son of politician and former BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra and grandson of former Haryana chief minister Bansi Lal, lives in Bhiwani. He is widely considered close to former BCCI president N. Srinivasan.
“The reason I am narrating these incidences are not because I am afraid of any physical injury, threat, assault, or death, but wanted to inform you the unparlimentary language used and unprofessional behaviour of HT [Honorary Treasurer] . I have sounded my family about all the above events. If anything happens to me in near future then one should know, who may be held responsible for that,” Rangnekar wrote in his email.
“Being a lawyer, his behaviour with me in public and private is totally different. When he gives me a threat, he doesn’t keep any evidence behind. HT’s most of the emails are with a one point agenda -- a personal attack on me, tarnishing my image, harassment, mental torture, challenging my act and actions etc.,” he alleged.
The Mumbai-based Rangnekar says in his letter that during all three “one-way communication” he had preferred to “remain totally silent”. “I just concentrate on my job i.e. accounts/audit/finance/treasury function, for which I am responsible for. This is for your information,” he concluded his message to the COA and the CEO.
According to Rangnekar’s email, Chaudhry had given him “death threat” on January 21 and twice on October 6.
The first incident allegedly took place at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. “Date: 21 Jan 2017. Venue: Conference room adjacent to CFO office on 1st Floor, Cricket Centre, Mumbai. Time: around 11 am. Incident: HT [Honorary Treasurer] called me inside the conference room. He told me to switch off my cell phone. Checked whether any camera is there in the conference room. Then said that FIR will be filed on CEO and CFO (myself) for misappropriation of funds i.e. because we used UBI account to run BCCI’s operations for the period 2 Jan to 20 Jan 2017. Then further said that this FIR will be finally turned as fake/untrue or court will reject the same but till that time for next 2 years at least our life (professional and personal) will be totally finished. On that I just said that CEO and CFO (myself) have acted on the basis of written instructions from SC/Lodha/Amicus Curie. HT said if I would have been in Haryana, by now I would have been evaporated. Know one knew [sic] whether I was there in this world ever. (Death Threat). Present: HT and myself,” writes Rangnekar.
The CFO narrates the alleged second instance thus: “Date: 6 Oct. 2017. Venue: Pavilion Coffee shop at ITC Maurya, New Delhi. Ground Floor. Time: around 1.30 pm. Incident: HT said that I should take Potassium Cyanide instead of Solvine ( a tab for throat infection which was recommended by GV ). HT made this comment with a smile - Death Threat. Present: HT, Gaurav Virmani and myself,” he says.
“Date: 6 Oct. 2017. Venue: At the Lobby of ITC Maurya, New Delhi. Ground Floor. Time: around 2.30 pm. Incident: HT said he will finish me soon. Ab mera time aa gaya hai. Do one mistake and kahlass karunga tumko. Bachke rahana (Death and job threat). Present: HT, Gaurav Virmani and myself,” he illustrates.
There have been many reports of the BCCI being a completely fragmented body ever since the 2013 IPL betting-fixing case reached the Supreme Court. Widening its scope, the court appointed the Lodha Committee to give recommendations to reform the BCCI. After the court upheld most of the recommendations in the Lodha Committee Report – and later sacked then president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay shirke -- the BCCI virtually split vertically. Today, acting president CK Khanna, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary and Anirudh Chaudhry are reportedly pulling in different directions.
The former CAG Vinod Rai-headed CoA hasn’t been able to reform the BCCI so far as the various stake holders have been resisting it tooth and nail. The new constitution is yet to finalised and, therefore, the elections, which usually take place in September, couldn’t be held.
But Wednesday’s sensational development seems to have put all previous ugly incidents to shame. It remains to be seen how the court reacts to Chaudhry’s explanation once it is submitted. One thing is, however, now crystal clear: the BCCI, the world’s wealthiest cricket organisation, is in complete disarray.
