Karnataka HC restrains KSCA from naming eligible candidates for president’s post | India News – Hindustan Times

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The Karnataka high court has restrained the state cricket association’s electoral body from announcing the list of eligible candidates for the president’s post until further orders.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the interim order on Wednesday after sports administrator KN Shanth Kumar, whose nomination for the post was rejected on technical grounds, moved the court challenging the decision. He directed Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) not to publish the names of eligible contenders until the court hears the matter on Thursday.
Kumar, the director of The Printers (Mysore) Pvt Ltd and a member of “Team Brijesh” backed by former India cricketer Brijesh Patel, filed a writ petition on Tuesday seeking to quash the November 24 order of the electoral officer rejecting his nomination.
Kumar’s nomination was rejected because the sports club he represents, M/s Deccan Herald and Prajavani Sports Club, had an outstanding subscription fee arrear of ₹200. He argued that the electoral body’s decision to reject his nomination was illegal because the arrears did not pertain to him personally, and that he was not even a founder club member.
Kumar alleged that the KSCA electoral body acted with “misconduct” in treating a petty lapse as a disqualifying defect. “The rejection of a presidential nomination over ₹200 creates an impression not of strict adherence to rules, but of overzealous technical policing or worse, of an attempt to keep a particular contender out of the fray,” his petition said.
Former Indian cricketer Venkatesh Prasad, who stood to be elected unopposed after Kumar’s disqualification, has opposed Kumar’s plea. Through his counsel, senior advocate Prabhuling Navadgi, Prasad argued that Kumar cannot approach the court after his nomination had been rejected.
Kumar claimed that the arrears had been paid before the scrutiny of nominations. He said there had been no demand for the arrears, and pointed out that his club had been allowed to participate in state tournaments and the 2025 elections process, indicating that the alleged default had not previously been treated as a bar.
He called the non-payment a “curable defect” and told the court he would produce video evidence on Thursday to show that the ₹200 was remitted well within the time limit.
The plea said Kumar filed his nomination on November 15. On November 21, the high court directed the KSCA to conduct scrutiny of nominations. Three days later, on November 24, Kumar’s nomination was rejected.
The candidature of former cricketer Kalpana Venkatachar, part of Prasad’s camp, for the post of president was approved, but she withdrew from the race. On Wednesday, Venkatachar urged the court to restrain the KSCA from taking a final decision on her withdrawal. The court, which granted her request, will continue hearing the matter on Thursday.
The KSCA elections are scheduled for December 7 in compliance with a previous high court order.

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