The Supreme Court has allowed the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) election to proceed while stopping the declaration of its result, leaving the association’s leadership contest unresolved amid continuing legal challenges to the electoral process, according to a report by PTI.
The order was issued by a three-member Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana on September 29. The court was hearing a petition filed by former woman cricketer Megha Gaur over the absence of women from both the electorate and the field of candidates.
Election proceeds but outcome remains on hold
The RCA election had been scheduled to begin at 11:30 am, with the results originally due to be announced later the same day. Rather than halt the voting process, the Supreme Court separated the conduct of the election from the declaration of its outcome.
The Supreme Court Bench said: “Having regard to the issues raised by the petitioner, especially of women’s representation in the Rajasthan Cricket Association, we direct that the election, which is scheduled to take place today, will take place. However, the result be not declared.”
Gaur’s challenge focused on the lack of women participating in the election either as voters or candidates. Her petition sought interim relief while the underlying dispute surrounding the RCA electoral process remained unresolved.
Six RCA positions reduced to head-to-head contests
The final ballot looked considerably different from the original field of candidates after a series of withdrawals ahead of polling.
According to The Times of India, 30 nominations had initially been submitted for the RCA’s six executive positions, but 18 were subsequently withdrawn. That left 12 candidates — two for each available position.
Beyond the presidency, Mohit Yadav and Ratan Singh Shekhawat were contesting the vice-president position, while Yadav and Pinkesh Kumar Jain were competing for secretary. Vinod Saharan and Rajesh Saraswat remained in contention for joint secretary, Ashish Tiwari and Vishnu Prakash Agarwal for treasurer, and Aristh Singhvi and Dharamveer Singh Shekhawat for the executive member position.
The presidential ballot was also reduced to two candidates after Parakram Singh Rathore withdrew on September 28, leaving Jodhpur District Cricket Association President Dhananjai Singh Khimsar and Dausa District Cricket Association Secretary Brij Kishore Upadhyay competing for the top position.
A source told The Times of India: “Upadhyay’s (Dausa DCA secretary) entry into the race has injected fresh drama, particularly when he arrived to file his nomination papers accompanied by veteran leader and finance commission chairman Arun Chaturvedi, a prominent figure close to the chief minister, which political insiders suggest indicates govt backing. That said, Khimsar also possesses immense political weight, being the son of the state’s health minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar. Also, let’s not forget that Dhananjai’s extended family shares a strong connection with an influential Central minister.”
TOI’s reporting also cited another source who attributed Rathore’s withdrawal to insufficient political backing, claiming that he had not secured the broader support he needed and that several district cricket associations he believed were behind his candidature had not ultimately supported him.
Voter list faces separate challenge
The composition of the RCA electorate has also become part of the legal dispute surrounding the election.
According to The New Indian Express, a separate objection concerns cricket associations representing three newly formed districts and whether they should have been included in the voter list and granted voting rights under the applicable rules.
A total of 38 voters cast ballots at the RCA Academy in Jaipur across the six contests. However, the Supreme Court’s intervention means those votes cannot yet translate into a declared leadership structure.
Rajasthan High Court asked to address pending case
The Supreme Court also turned attention back to proceedings already before the Rajasthan High Court, asking it to decide the pending matter concerning the RCA electoral process.
The High Court had intervened in the administration of the association earlier in July, appointing the Additional Chief Secretary of the Rajasthan Government’s Home Department as RCA administrator. District cricket associations were also placed under the administrator’s supervision until a regular committee could be constituted.
The latest Supreme Court intervention therefore leaves an unusual separation between the electoral process and its consequence: RCA members have voted and every executive position has been contested, but the identities of the successful candidates cannot yet be formally declared.
Attention now shifts to the Rajasthan High Court and the pending legal proceedings that stand between the completed ballot and the installation of the RCA’s next leadership.
