In Brief
A former Kerala Ranji Trophy cricketer, Santhosh Karunakaran, challenged a lifetime ban imposed by the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA). The ban followed the Ombudsman's rejection of his original application seeking uniform cricket byelaws, based on his failure to implead District Cricket Associations. The Supreme Court quashed the ban, finding the Ombudsman's proceedings lacked transparency, the appellant was not informed of earlier directions, and virtual hearings were frequently interrupted. The Court held that impleadment was not mandatory for a non-adversarial application seeking policy reforms. The original application was revived for fresh hearing.
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