Hyderabad: Telangana high court has cleared the way for a full hearing on a challenge mounted by former Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) secretary R Devraj against his disqualification, ruling that his writ petition is maintainable and can be examined on merits.Justice Renuka Yara directed that the matter be listed for further hearing on June 22. The court, however, declined to pass any specific orders on two interlocutory applications, noting that elections to the post of HCA secretary had already been conducted.The court held that the writ petition was maintainable after observing that Devraj had no practical opportunity to approach the HCA ombudsman when the dispute arose. The ombudsman was out of station at the relevant time and, by the time he returned, Devraj’s tenure had already been declared concluded and election notifications had been issued.The court further noted that directing an HCA member to seek relief before a civil court would run contrary to the Lodha Committee recommendations, which were accepted by the Supreme Court and mandate resolution of such disputes through an ombudsman mechanism.The observations came while hearing a petition filed by Devraj challenging HCA’s Feb decision declaring him ineligible to continue as secretary and to contest future association elections.Appearing for Devraj, counsel Mohammed Omer Farooq submitted that his client was elected HCA secretary on Oct 22, 2023, and that his tenure was scheduled to continue until Oct this year.Farooq argued that the Supreme Court had clarified that only periods served as an office-bearer should be counted while calculating the nine-year disqualification limit and that service as an executive committee member could not be included. He contended that if Devraj’s tenure as an executive committee member was excluded, he would not attract disqualification.He further alleged that despite this legal position, the HCA president issued a letter on Feb 19, stating that Devraj would cease to hold office from March 5, and would be ineligible to contest elections.“The decision was taken without prior notice, without providing him a copy of the fact-finding report relied upon, and without giving him an opportunity to be heard, and that the HCA president had no authority under the association’s bye-laws to determine his eligibility,” the counsel argued.Opposing the plea, the HCA president and other respondents strongly questioned the maintainability of the writ petition, contending that Devraj ought to have approached alternative forums such as the ombudsman or a civil court under section 23 of the Societies Registration Act.They also defended the decision to disqualify him, relying on a fact-finding report which, they said, established that Devraj had already completed the maximum permissible nine-year tenure as an office-bearer.
