Hyderabad Cricket Body Orders Azharuddin’s Name Off Stadium Citing Conflict of Interest, Misuse of Power

Hyderabad: Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin's name was ordered removed from a pavilion at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.

The order was passed on Saturday (April 19) by the ombudsman and ethics officer of Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), Justice (retired) V. Eswaraiah, a former acting Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh high court.

He also ordered that no future tickets for matches at the stadium carry Azharuddin’s name.

Justice Eswaraiah based the order on a complaint earlier this year by a club affiliated to the HCA, of which Azharuddin is a past president, alleging high-handed action on his part to name the ‘North Pavilion’ at the stadium after himself when he was at the association’s helm from September 2019 to February 2023.

He was alleged to not have sought the approval of the HCA’s general body and taken a unilateral decision in his favour as a member of the body’s apex council, per the complaint. 

This is the second shock for Azharuddin in cricket on his return to the game after the Andhra Pradesh high court discharged him from a lifetime ban imposed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on match-fixing charges that rattled the country.

Four criminal cases were registered against him and other office bearers of the HCA by the Uppal police station in October 2023 for the alleged misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs 3.85 crore.

The money was allegedly spent to purchase cricket balls, fire safety equipment, gym equipment and bucket chairs for use at the stadium.

HCA CEO Sunil Bose named Azharuddin; a former secretary, R. Vijay Anand; a former treasurer, Surender Agrawal and three companies in his police complaint.

The complaint led to a forensic audit of the HCA's finances for three years up to March 2023.

The Enforcement Directorate grilled Azharuddin for ten hours on October 8 last year in a case relating to money laundering after the FIRs were filed by the police.

In the latest act, Azharuddin was alleged to have named a pavilion after himself when it already bore the name of another India star, V.V.S. Laxman, who played 134 Test matches for India.

A board bearing the words “Mohammed Azharuddin Stand” was erected above another existing board named the “V.V.S. Laxman Pavilion” in the northern part of the stands at a strategic location above the commentators box, the complaint said.

It was a brazen case of conflict of interest, arbitrary and unfair. It superseded the decision of the general body to allot the stand in the name of Laxman, who was of “impeccable” character, the Lords Cricket Club also alleged.

Azharuddin filed a reply before the ombudsman last month and also appeared in person saying the complaint was four or five years old and as such barred by limitation.

He denied a conflict of interest and said it was the unanimous decision of the apex council, not borne of unilaterality or any pressure.

He made a distinction between the stand allotted to Laxman as the northern stand and his name figuring in the ‘north pavilion stand’.

They were two different sections in the same pavilion, he said, adding that the name of the stand representing Laxman was not changed or modified. The decision was deemed to be ratified at the next general body meeting in the absence of any dispute or issues raised. There was no conflict of interest as he did not derive any benefit out of such a decision, Azharuddin continued.

However, the judge dismissed Azharuddin’s contention that the complaint was barred by limitation, saying this did not apply to cases of conflict of interest.

“There was no conflict of interest as the action did not interfere with cricketing matters,” Azharuddin maintained.

Azharuddin’s argument was countered by the HCA, represented by its secretary R. Devraj, who said there were only two pavilions in the stadium – north and south. The northern pavilion meant the entire northern area of the stadium. The southern pavilion was named after former India offspinner Shivlal Yadav. On the sides, there were east and west stands.

The resolution of the apex council presided over by Azharuddin on November 25, 2019, when his name was given to the northern pavilion, also contained a decision to honour two more India stars, Arshad Ayub and L. Venkatapathy Raju with their name boards at unspecified places in the stadium, but this has not been done till date.

After enquiring into the complaint, Justice Eswaraiah observed that there was no decision by the general body of the HCA either to ratify the resolution of the apex council or to modify/rectify the earlier general body mandate to name the pavilion after Laxman.

The post of ombudsman and ethics officer was vacant till May last year, which was the reason for the delay by the Lords’ Cricket Club in lodging the complaint with the right authority. The delay was condonable for raising a legitimate grievance, he said.

The selective implementation of the apex council resolution to name the pavilion after Azharuddin but leave out Ayub and Raju reflected the brazenness of conflict of interest practiced by Azharuddin. The resolution was an abuse of power and lacked authority after Laxman's name was cleared by the general body, the judge noted.

Therefore, the name board for Azharuddin above that of Laxman constituted an illegal action that could not be perpetuated.

The judge recalled in this context a case filed before the then-ombudsman by Azharuddin himself alleging a commercial conflict of interest against former HCA president G. Vivekanand. The ombudsman disqualified Vivekanand though the latter prayed that the conflict of interest alleged against him did not pertain to cricketing matters. This was upheld by the high court.

Justice Eswaraiah noted that commercial transactions or misuse of position fell within the purview of conflict of interest even if they did not interfere with cricketing matters. Therefore, the order of the ombudsman disqualifying Vivekanand on the grounds of conflict of interest was held to be prima facie in accordance with law by the high court.

Neither Vivekanand nor his brother Vinod, who was also a HCA president, were willing to speak on the issue when contacted by The Wire. Both are now Congress MLAs.

Azharuddin is also a Congress leader and working president of the party's Telangana unit. He was elected as Congress MP from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh in the 2009 general elections.

Eswaraiah also recalled that Ayub as president of the HCA did not choose to name any part of the stadium after himself, unlike Azharuddin. Though Laxman did not raise an objection to Azharuddin's name board being displayed above his, it did not absolve the latter from the charge of conflict of interest, he said.

Laxman and current India pacer Mohammed Siraj attended the inauguration of Azharuddin's pavilion.

Former HCA secretary T. Shesh Narayan told The Wire that Azharuddin’s name board was not in good taste, covering a large space from one end to the other. And it appeared superimposed over that of Laxman. A section of clubs affiliated to the HCA felt that Azharuddin ‘bulldozed’ over other viewpoints in implementing his decision, he said.

Instead of respecting the sentiments of other members, Azharuddin got money sanctioned by the HCA and got the large board installed, he also said.

Shesh Narayan recalled that the BCCI was too generous in paving the way for Azharuddin to return to mainstream cricket administration though he was tainted in a match-fixing episode. But the cricketer did not reciprocate the offer gracefully, he said.

Former Hyderabad Ranji trophy player Kanwaljeet Singh said it was unfortunate that Azharuddin should be going through this kind of embarrassment after bringing laurels to the country. It was not right to do this to a player of his stature, but no one is bigger than the game, he added.

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