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The Bombay High Court on Monday questioned whether there can be a "conflict of interest" if a minister is part of the BCCI, or of any other sports body for that matter.
After the BCCI counsel failed to comment on this, the court asked the state government to reply by May 5 whether there is a possibility of such a conflict and also whether there was any "code of conduct" for ministers on this aspect.
The question came up during the hearing of a PIL filed by Shiv Sena MLA Subhash Desai, demanding that state collect entertainment tax from the IPL. The division bench of Justice PB Majmudar and Justice Rajesh Ketkar asked BCCI lawyer Raju Subramaniam whether a minister could be a functionary of the cricket body. They questioned the morality of such a decision and asked whether "a conflict of interest will arise if a minister is head of a sport association".
Subramaniam said he could not comment on this, but added the BCCI constitution does not prevent any minister from contesting elections. Chief minister Ashok Chavan, asked for his reaction, said the government would seek legal advice before replying.
On the primary subject of the petition, government lawyer DA Nalavade said the state had waived entertainment tax on all sport activities in 1964, but is mulling lifting the exemption. "The government now intends to withdraw the exemption because these are not just sport activities," Nalavade said, adding that a policy was needed for all sport events where entertainment was a primary element.
The judges remarked that now that the IPL is over, it would be difficult to recover entertainment tax in retrospect. "The damage done is unpardonable." The BCCI lawyer said should the government levy entertainment tax, the cricket body would pay up. Subramaniam said except for the final, the semis, and the play-off for third spot, tickets were sold by the franchisees; hence, BCCI would not be liable for tax, he said.
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