THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-December 17, 2016- Topic 1
Equivocation before the Supreme Court
can be costly. Anurag Thakur, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in
India, may have learnt this bitter lesson after
the Chief Justice of India found him prima
facie guilty of contempt of court and
perjury. The board’s predicament is not only due to its reluctance to accept
the reforms suggested by the court-appointed Justice Lodha Committee. It is
also because of its president’s ham-handed attempt to explain away his move to
get the International Cricket Council to issue a letter to the effect that some
judicial orders regarding the BCCI amounted to ‘governmental interference’. Mr.
Thakur allegedly approached ICC chairman Shashank Manohar in Dubai in August
2016 in connection with the court’s July 18 order mandating that a nominee of
the Comptroller and Auditor General of India should be on the BCCI’s apex
council. It is not surprising that the court took a dim view of the BCCI
initially denying that such an attempt had been made to get the ICC involved.
It was probably just as displeased with Mr. Thakur going on to file an
affidavit that he had only wanted Mr. Manohar to give his opinion on the issue
as a former BCCI president. Mr. Thakur would have been better off admitting
what happened, given that Mr. Manohar has disclosed that the BCCI president had
indeed asked him for such a letter.
Mr. Thakur being rendered liable for
prosecution for perjury is not the only consequence; the current BCCI
office-bearers may lose their control over the board. The Bench headed by the
Chief Justice is already in a mood to appoint some observers, based on a
suggestion by the Lodha Committee, to oversee the BCCI’s affairs. The BCCI has
allowed an impression to gain ground that its attitude towards reforms is one
of defiance and obstruction. So far the cricket body has been maintaining that
it cannot force its State-level affiliates to accept all the new norms. The
BCCI could have avoided a direct confrontation by committing itself more
plainly to abide by the court verdict. The BCCI’s reputation as a responsible
sports administrator is under strain not because of any shortcoming in its
management of the cricketing aspects of the game, but its seeming intransigence
in embracing reforms aimed at bringing about transparency in its functioning.
Any order convicting the BCCI president for perjury or holding its top
functionaries guilty of contempt of court would severely damage the
institution. An apology from Mr. Thakur, and the BCCI’s wholehearted acceptance
of the Lodha Committee reforms, seem the only way out.
Vocabulary
Equivocation: the use of ambiguous language
to conceal the truth or to avoid committing oneself; prevarication.
Example: I say this without equivocation
Perjury: the offense of willfully telling an untruth in a court
after having taken an oath or affirmation.
Example: Another antique rule provided that a corporation could not be indicted for
a felony like perjury .
Synonyms: lying under oath, giving false evidence/testimony, making
false statements
Prima
facie: based on the first impression; accepted as correct until proved otherwise.
Example: A prima facie case of professional misconduct
Displeased: make someone feel annoyed or
dissatisfied.
Example: The tone of the letter displeased him
Synonyms: annoy, irritate, anger, irk, vex, pique, gall, nettle, put
out
Rendered: provide or give a service, help, etc..
Example: Money serves as a reward for services rendered
Synonyms: give, provide, supply, furnish, contribute, offer, proffer
Defiance: open resistance; bold disobedience.
Example: The demonstration was held in defiance of official warnings
Synonyms: resistance, opposition, noncompliance, disobedience, insubordination
Confrontation: a hostile or argumentative
meeting or situation between opposing parties.
Example: A confrontation with the legislature
Synonyms: conflict, clash, fight, battle, encounter, faceoff, engagement, skirmish
Oversee: supervise (a person or work), especially in an official
capacity.
Example: A trustee appointed to oversee Corrie's finances
Synonyms: supervise, superintend, be in charge/control of, be
responsible for, look after
Obstruction: the action of obstructing or
the state of being obstructed.
Example: They faced obstruction in carrying out their research
Consequence: a result or effect of an
action or condition.
Example: Many have been laid off from work as a consequence of the administration's
policies
Synonyms: result, upshot, outcome, effect, repercussion, ramification