BCA election row: HC defers verdict, interim arrangement to continue

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court on Thursday deferred its verdict on the challenge to the candidature of some senior office-bearers, including former Indian cricketer Kiran More, in the Baroda Cricket Association's elections.While fixing March 16 for its final order, Justice Niral Mehta said that the interim arrangement made last month allowing the last elected body to discharge routine work until the final verdict would continue. The HC made the interim arrangement to avoid an "administrative vacuum", as it stayed the election results while allowing the polls for the new body and councillors to take place on Feb 15.The petition was filed by two BCA members, Pradeepsinh Solanki and Ramchandra Prajapati, for enforcement of SC guidelines, which disqualify individuals who completed a cumulative nine-year tenure as an office-bearer and/or councillor in a state association and mandate a three-year cooling-off period after two consecutive terms. They had challenged the candidature of Kiran More, Amul Jikar, Ananat Indulkar and Amar Petiwale for different posts, citing the SC guidelines.