Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Plea on JKCA Elections, Restricts Result Declaration Until Further Orders
New Delhi, Jan 9 (PTI)
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea concerning the upcoming elections of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) and directed that the poll results should not be declared until further orders.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta on Thursday passed the order while hearing a petition that sought the appointment of an independent electoral officer to prepare the electoral rolls and conduct the JKCA elections strictly in accordance with the association’s constitution.
The bench sought a response from the JKCA on the petition and posted the matter for hearing on February 2, 2026. It clarified that, in the meantime, while the election may be conducted, its results should not be declared.
The plea, filed by several cricket clubs affiliated with the JKCA, also sought a direction to appoint a retired apex court judge as administrator of the JKCA with full powers to take over the day-to-day administration of the association from the existing Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sub-committee.
Several clubs had raised objections over the preparation of electoral rolls for the upcoming elections, alleging that the association’s constitution was violated and that 16 clubs were excluded from the poll process. They argued that the existing process was not transparent or fair.
Additional context from detailed legal reporting:
A more detailed legal account notes that this order restrains the declaration of election results amid serious allegations of fraud and manipulation of electoral rolls by members of the BCCI sub-committee handling the polls. The petition was filed by 19 out of 25 affiliated cricket clubs.
The elections are being supervised by a court-appointed electoral officer, A K Jyoti, pursuant to an earlier Supreme Court direction that JKCA elections be completed within 12 weeks and in accordance with the approved constitution. The top court had previously directed that the polls be held by mid-January 2026.
Petitioners allege that the sub-committee retrospectively issued and backdated orders, unlawfully altered electoral rolls, and excluded eligible members, undermining the fairness of the electoral process. They seek the removal of the current electoral officer for lack of independence, the appointment of a new independent electoral officer, and a retired Supreme Court judge as the administrator of JKCA with full administrative authority.