Qaiser Mohammad Ali
Raising a revolt, DDCA club secretary Sunil Jain has charged that the corruption-afflicted association is being run by ‘resolutions by circulation’ and, using an earthquake analogy, alleged that its ‘epicentre was somewhere’ outside the Ferzosehah Kotla.
By ‘epicentre was somewhere’ he hinted that some people outside of the DDCA were actually running show through their proxies.
Jain, known for his integrity and honesty, said he was deliberately being ignored by some of his DDCA colleagues as he has refused to toe their line blindly, and claimed that he was not even being invited for executive committee meetings.
DDCA club secretary Sunil Jain, who is known for his integrity.Jain said minutes of executive committee meetings are not circulated for several months and that often decisions taken at meetings are not exactly mentioned in the minutes — provided they are circulated at all.
“Like there is always an epicentre of an earthquake, DDCA too has an epicentre somewhere,” Jain told www.jantakareporter.com teasingly, implying that the association was actually being run on instructions of some people outside the Kotla where the DDCA headquarters are.
Although Jain didn’t take any names, he cited the case of 12 resolutions that were recently circulated among DDCA directors to justify his point. Not just Jain, but several other DDCA officials, including some members of the executive committee, say they are routinely called at different places and asked to sign important documents.
(Also read: Delhi HC tells DDCA to deposit Rs.1 cr with Delhi excise dept & host match)
The balance sheet of year 2013-14 is a case in point. It is believed that not all 27 directors have signed the balance sheet, which apparently has many unanswered questions.
Jain said he, for instance, not signed it. “I didn’t receive the resolution through which the 2013-14 DDCA balance sheet was passed,” he disclosed.
It is the same contentious balance sheet in which the DDCA’s auditors had raised many objections in an internal audit report, including the alleged illegal transfer of Rs 1.55 crore out of the association.
The 2013-14 balance sheet and accounts have been sent to the BCCI, which will now get it thoroughly audited before releasing the DDCA’s share of money with it.
(Also read: EXCLUSIVE — Top secret DDCA bid to strike ‘compromise’ between ‘corrupt’ directors)
Now, it is said that the internal report of 2014-15 is ready, but apparently it has not been circulated among all the directors as yet, or maybe not among all of them.
“This association is being run through resolutions,” thundered Jain. “This despite the fact that I said in the September 4 executive committee meeting – the last one to be held — that such kinds of resolutions should not be adopted and that everything should be discussed in meetings.”
Jain said democratic functioning of the DDCA has ceased to exist. “We are living in a democratic country. So, they should at least maintain some sort of democracy,” he pointed out, emphasising that decisions are routinely being taken through resolutions by circulation.
A businessman, Jain said that decisions taken in such a manner wouldn’t stand test of the law of the land. “All decisions taken through resolution by circulation have to be ratified by the executive committee, only then will they have sanctity and become binding,” said Jain, who is familiar with the laws as he himself runs a company.
In September-end and this month, general secretary Anil Khanna circulated at least 14 resolutions by circulation that sought the DDCA directors to sign and agree to annul all allegations of financial embezzlement against their co-directors, police complaints, and FIRs, amongst other things. But the four most contentious resolutions were rejected.
(Also read: DDCA inquiry report not linked to Delhi Test: Delhi govt)
“If those resolutions were passed by circulation, they were never sent to me. But since the DDCA is Section 8 company, there must be a method to move resolutions by circulation,” Jain said. “I’ve heard that those who signed the resolutions were called somewhere outside the Kotla and made to sign like bonded labourers.”
Apart from Jain, the two other directors who didn’t sign the resolutions by circulation are Dinesh Saini and Brij Mohan Gupta.
“Till today no resolution by circulation has stood the test of law in a court. In DDCA, there have been several resolutions in last 10 years that have never been ratified by the executive committee,” he claimed.
Continuing this attack, Jain said, “No minutes have been passed for almost a year. They write something different in minutes from what exactly transpires at meetings despite there are video recordings of meetings. They don’t give CDs of the video recordings of meetings. Minutes of executive committee meetings since December 2014 haven’t been passed. You won’t see so much mismanagement anywhere.”
One reason that Jain is being ignored by his colleagues could be that he headed an in-house fact-finding committee that investigated alleged widespread and rampant financial corruption in the DDCA, and submitted a scathing report.
Interestingly, amongst the other things that the recent resolutions by circulation sought to annul was Jain committee’s this 50-page report.
The Jain committee was tasked to probe “large scale financial irregularities”, including the alleged illegal transfer of Rs.1.55 crore during the financial year 2013-14.
The upcoming India-South Africa Test is another huge cause of embarrassment for the DDCA, which was allotted the match as early as May by the BCCI. Despite that, Jain said, the match was not discussed at the September 4 executive committee meeting.
“In that meeting, the match was not included in the agenda,” he said. “And I have been requesting the video recording of that meeting but haven’t received it yet. Those who don’t accept wrongdoings are categorised as being against the association.”
Jain’s other grievance is that he had come to know that he was initially included in an organising committee constituted for this Test match – again through a resolution by circulation – but was dropped without his knowledge.
“Earlier, the organising committee comprised 14 members, including me. But now it has only 13 members. I did not withdraw; I think I am a competent person. But nobody took my consent. They never invited me. Perhaps, I don’t suit them. These decisions are being taken without the executive committee meetings,” he said.
(Also read: Kejriwal government wants BCCI to suspend DDCA)
DDCA patron Suresh Chopra was appointed chairman of this 13-member committee constituted to conduct the Test match, starting on December 3.
“They’ve appointed Suresh Chopra venue director for the match. Which committee has made this appointment? Appointing Chopra also means that all 24 [elected] or 27 directors [including] of the executive committee are incompetent,” he said.
One of the 12 resolutions passed recently was to appoint a three-member finance and audit committee that will handle all financial matters.
“Does it mean that they are scrapping the existing finance committee appointed by the executive committee? I ask them: Can they overrule the existing finance committee by a resolution by circulation?” said Jain.
“In June 2014, the executive committee had constituted the finance committee. But two members of that committee were changed in the minutes of that meeting without any discussion. We have video recording of that executive committee meeting,” he said. “If trust deficit crops up in an association and honesty is non-existent, then…”
