SC: Courts Should Keep Out of Sports Matters

On October 6, 2025, the Supreme Court remarked that it was high time the judiciary kept its hands off sports-related matters, especially noting that cricket had become more about business than sport.[1]

The remark came while hearing an SLP application concerning the cancellation of registration of the Jabalpur Divisional Cricket Association (JDCA) and the subsequent affiliation granted to the Mahakoushal Region Cricket Association (MRCA) by the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA). The Court ultimately allowed the application to be withdrawn.

The matter traces back to 2013, when the JDCA was declared defunct and its registration under the Madhya Pradesh Societies Registration Act, 1973, was cancelled. The JDCA appealed against its cancellation, and while the appeal was allowed in 2014, the Association was required to furnish certain information and file documents. Over a decade later, in January 2025, following a complaint that these conditions had not been fully met, the JDCA was again declared defunct. Following this, the MPCA granted affiliation to the MRCA and entrusted it to oversee cricketing activities in the Jabalpur division.

The JDCA challenged the January 2025 declaration before the Writ Court, which, on June 20, 2025, set aside the order, noting that it had been passed without reasons and after an inordinate delay. However, the Writ Court also quashed the 2014 order, effectively declaring the JDCA defunct once more. On July 31, 2025, the Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled in favour of the JDCA, modifying earlier orders and quashing further directions issued to and steps taken by the MPCA.

The MRCA then approached the Supreme Court, which expressed its disinclination to entertain the plea and permitted its withdrawal.

[1] Mahakoushal Region Cricket Association v. Jabalpur Divisional Cricket Association & Ors.  [SLP (C) Diary No. 48379/2025].