Amitabh Choudhary. File picture

Jamshedpur, April 14: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) is its full and permanent member.

The plea has come as a shot in the arm of Amitabh Choudhary, the current chief of the state body.

The affidavit filed recently by the BCCI secretary, Niranjan Shah, was based on the findings of the three- member committee formed to look into the dispute bet- ween the cricket bodies in Jharkhand and Bihar.

The panel comprising Chirayu Amin, Sanjay Jagdale and M.P. Pandove was formed last year by the BCCI on the directives of the apex court.

The affidavit says that according to Clause 3 of the BCCI rules and regulations, Bihar Cricket Association (1935), which was changed to JSCA and is headquartered at Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur, was the full and permanent member of the BCCI.

It adds that the cricket associations in Bihar will have to submit a fresh application for membership of the moard.

The BCCI secretary told The Telegraph from Mumbai that the affidavit had been filed in the Supreme Court and that the JSCA was its full and permanent member.

“The three-member committee had submitted its report to us and the findings have been reported to the court,” he added.

Sources said that the board’s affidavit is a shot in the arm of the Jharkhand cricket body, which had been fighting a long legal battle.

“It shows that what- ever the JSCA did was for the betterment of cricket and its administration. It is a blow to those who doubted our integrity towards the game,” a senior functionary of the state cricket association said.

Significantly, the tug-of-war for the control of cricket in Jharkhand and Bihar had threatened to disrupt cricketing activities, especially in the former state.

There was a big hue and cry when the name of BCA (1935) was changed to JSCA at a special general meeting convened in Jamshedpur in August 2004.

The Board subsequently recognised the JSCA as its member.

The disgruntled members of BCA (1935) later lodged a complaint with the BCCI in 2006 against recognition of the Jharkhand body.