'My stand is vindicated' - Dalmiya

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former ICC and BCCI president, has said his stand is vindicated after the Calcutta High Court directed initiation of criminal proceedings against six BCCI officials for filing a false affidavit in a case involving Dalmiya's expulsion from the Indian board.

"I am happy that my stand is vindicated and I have got faith in the system as truth always comes out," Dalmiya said. "I have tasted all the top positions, starting from treasurer of Cricket Association of Bengal in 1978-79 till becoming ICC president. I never thought this could happen to me. I always believe that truth and honesty prevail and if I am correct people have to realise it."

Dalmiya was expelled by the board in December 2006, but had contested the decision in court. In July 2007, the Calcutta High Court stayed Dalmiya's expulsion, following which he filed a perjury case against six BCCI officials, including president Shashank Manohar and former president Sharad Pawar, for misleading the court. The BCCI had filed an affidavit - signed by the six officials - in the Calcutta High Court stating that the rule under which Dalmiya had been expelled from the BCCI had been duly registered by the Registrar of Societies in Chennai.

"I thought it [the expulsion] was too much and I did not deserve it, as it was uncalled for. In democracy either you have to win by polls or you have to take the legal path," said Dalmiya. "I also felt that and why I should take the expulsion when I have done nothing wrong. Therefore, I filed a case saying that my expulsion is absolutely uncalled for and it should be stopped.

"Interestingly, when for the first time I went to the High Court, my lawyers told me that the documents relied upon is a lot to be questioned," he said. "So I filed a case for criminal prosecution of six BCCI officials as they were either office bearers or holding a post in a committee and the decision of the case has come today."

The court had allowed Dalmiya to contest the Cricket Association of Bengal elections last year, and he was elected president earlier this year. Dalmiya is still facing a case filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police, for alleged embezzlement of funds during the 1996 World Cup.

Apart than Manohar and Pawar, the other BCCI officials involved in the perjury case are Ratnakar Shetty (chief administrative officer), Niranjan Shah (former secretary), N Srinivasan (current secretary) and Chirayu Amin (vice-president).