Jammu, August 19: A court ordered preliminary inquiry into allegations concerning the date of birth of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Mithun Manhas has reopened a much larger and deeply uncomfortable debate over transparency, accountability and the continued influence of entrenched interests within cricket administration in Jammu and Kashmir.
A Special Railway Magistrate’s Court in Jammu has directed the Station House Officer (SHO) of Police Station Nowabad to conduct a preliminary inquiry into a complaint filed by former Joint Honorary Secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association, Sudershan Mehta, and submit a report before the court by September 3.
The complaint alleges that Manhas furnished different dates of birth at different stages of his cricketing career and that the date allegedly used for junior level cricket differed from the date recorded in his school records. The complainant has cited information purportedly obtained from Maharaja Hari Singh Agriculture Collegiate School, Nagbani, Jammu, which records Manhas’s date of birth as December 9, 1977, while the Delhi and District Cricket Association website has reportedly listed October 12, 1979.
The court, while directing the preliminary inquiry, observed that under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, a preliminary inquiry may be required before registration of a cognizable offence in such circumstances.
The allegations remain unproven at this stage, and the police inquiry will establish whether there is sufficient material to proceed further. But the case has already triggered a more consequential question in the cricketing circles of J&K: has the cricket administration in the Union Territory ever applied its standards of integrity, eligibility and accountability consistently, irrespective of who is involved?
The question becomes particularly pertinent because allegations of age and eligibility manipulation are not entirely new to Jammu and Kashmir cricket.
In an earlier case involving another J&K cricketer, similar allegations were reportedly made regarding his age and eligibility for junior level cricket. The matter reached the Crime Branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which reportedly registered an FIR after examining the allegations. Yet the case was subsequently withdrawn on behalf of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association by a then senior sub committee member.
What followed has continued to raise eyebrows among sections of the cricket fraternity. Despite the seriousness of the allegations and the reported intervention of the Crime Branch, the same cricketer was subsequently seen making his way back into the J&K cricket establishment. His reported re entry has fuelled allegations that institutional doors can be reopened for individuals who have faced serious questions, provided they enjoy the backing of influential elements within the system.
For years, players, coaches and cricket followers have questioned the persistence of an old power structure within the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. Despite changes in office bearers and administrative arrangements, critics allege that the same individuals and networks continue to exercise considerable influence over the association’s functioning.
The allegations extend from administration and player selection to the appointment of support staff and procurement, creating a perception that control over the association remains concentrated in the hands of a small and well established group.
Questions have also been raised over the reported continuation of individuals in influential positions despite having crossed prescribed age limits. In one such case, a senior sub committee member is reportedly over 70 years of age but is alleged to have remained interested in securing or retaining a lucrative position within the association. Critics view such arrangements as another indication of an entrenched lobby determined to preserve its influence.
The central concern among cricket enthusiasts is therefore not merely who occupies a particular post. It is whether the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association has genuinely broken with the culture of closed door decision making that has dominated its affairs for years.
The frustration is palpable as the cricket followers have watched the same names, networks and power centres remain relevant through successive administrative arrangements, while questions concerning accountability, transparency, selection, appointments and financial decisions continue to surface.
The situation has left many stakeholders asking a fundamental question: if the same people continue to control administration, selection, appointments and procurement, what has actually changed in the governance of Jammu and Kashmir cricket?
The court’s direction in the Mithun Manhas matter now places another sensitive issue under official scrutiny. It also provides an opportunity for the authorities to demonstrate that allegations relating to age manipulation, eligibility and sporting integrity will be examined impartially, regardless of the stature or position of the individual concerned.
For the cricket fraternity of Jammu and Kashmir, the demand is increasingly straightforward. They want a cricket administration where rules are applied uniformly, selection is based on merit, appointments are transparent, procurement is accountable and no individual or lobby is allowed to exercise unchecked influence over the game.
Until that happens, every new controversy will inevitably revive the same uncomfortable question: has Jammu and Kashmir cricket really changed, or has only the personnel on the surface changed while the old power structure continues to call the shots?
