HC dismisses DDCA's plea for Feroz Shah Kotla
The Delhi HC dismissed a plea from the DDCA for a no-objection certificate from the South Delhi Municipal Corporation for using the Feroz Shah Kotla. The HC dismissed the plea stating that the stadium can be used only after demolishing part of the structure which is near the 'Kotla Baoli'. The developments triggered uncertainity over hosting the T20 World Cup matches in the stadium.
Run by the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA), Feroz Shah Kotla ground is home to the Delhi Ranji team and the Delhi Daredevils IPL team.
Feroz Shah Kotla is the second oldest international cricket stadium still functional in India, after the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Established in 1883, the stadium was a fortress built by Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq to house his version of the Delhi city called Ferozabad. The first international game here was a Test match between India and the West Indies in 1948.
DDCA was required to get all necessary clearances from the Delhi Urban Arts Commission and Archaeological Survey of India and no objection certificate from Land and Development Office and completion certificate from South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).
DDCA moved the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the municipal corporation to issue them a provisional occupancy certificate (POC) to hold Ind-SL T20 match at Ferozshah Kotla. DDCA's advocate said that if DDCA does not get all the clearances for the match, BCCI could shift the venue. DDCA had got an interim relief from the court 13 times in the past.
On 18 Nov 2015, Delhi HC paved way for DDCA to hold India-South Africa test match at Kotla stadium by directing SDMC to issue a POC. The court while issuing the direction had also said that DDCA was to get all necessary clearances by 31 March 2016.
Delhi High Court refused to direct the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to issue provisional occupancy certificate to DDCA. HC bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Vibhu Bakhru said that, the court in its earlier order clarified that, till the time DDCA gets all the requisite clearances it will not be allowed to hold further matches at the stadium. DDCA thereafter withdrew its plea.
BCCI shifted the venue of 12 February match between India and Sri Lanka, for the upcoming T20I series, from Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla to Ranchi. This was due to the inability of the DDCA to obtain clearance to host the match. Responding to BCCI's deadline to confirm whether it could host Ind-SL match, DDCA said that the association would be unable to do so.
Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla ground is at risk of not hosting World Twenty20 fixtures. This comes after the BCCI moved a match against Sri Lanka away from the venue due to administrative lapses. BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said that DDCA needed to procure all the necessary clearances by Sunday if they were to continue as the hosts of ICC WT20 tournament 2016.
