BCCI exempt from RTI Act as CIC declares board “not a public authority”

In a major ruling for Indian sports administration, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has held that the Board of Control for Cricket in India is not a “public authority” under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, effectively exempting the Board from mandatory RTI disclosures.

The order, passed by Information Commissioner P. R. Ramesh, brings an end to a prolonged legal battle that began in 2018, when former Information Commissioner M. Sridhar Acharyulu had declared the BCCI a public authority and directed it to appoint Public Information Officers under the RTI framework.

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However, the BCCI challenged that decision before the Madras High Court, which later asked the CIC to reconsider the matter in light of various Supreme Court rulings.

In its fresh order, the Commission ruled that the BCCI does not satisfy the conditions laid down under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act. It observed that the Board is a society registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act and is “neither established by or under the Constitution nor created by any law enacted by Parliament”.

The CIC further noted that the government exercises “no deep or pervasive control” over the BCCI’s functioning or administration. Stressing the Board’s financial autonomy, the Commission said the BCCI is a self-sustaining body that earns revenue through media rights, sponsorships, and ticket sales, and that tax exemptions or statutory concessions do not amount to “substantial financing” by the government under the RTI Act.

“The BCCI cannot be classified as a ‘Public Authority’ within the meaning of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act and the provisions of the Act are therefore inapplicable to it in the facts and circumstances of the present case,” Commissioner Ramesh said in the order.

The order also cautioned against assuming that increased government oversight automatically ensures fairness.

“To superimpose a model of oversight premised solely on governmental control may fail to account for these realities and could risk unintended consequences, including inefficiencies or disruptions in a finely balanced economic structure,” the Commission observed.

The ruling also indicates that bringing the BCCI under the RTI Act would now require either a legislative amendment or a specific executive intervention, as the current legal framework does not cover the Board’s structure and functioning.