BENGALURU: In a fight against the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), the BCCI ombudsman has removed secretary Santosh Menon as he has completed nine years.Based on the complaint filed by the Dolphin Cricketers, a member of the KSCA, the ombudsman has said that Menon, after completing nine years, cannot continue, and that the job has been declared vacant.Justice Arun Mishra (rtd), the ombudsman, in an order on June 24, said that Menon would expire on December 16, 2025, nine days after he assumed office after the elections held on December 7.“Orders given to cool it down.” Respondent no. 3 [Menon] has completed 9 years as a member of the Management Committee and as an employee; he is disqualified u/s 6B(3)(g),” said the Ombudsman in his order.Menon served nine years in office, including his tenure as a member of the management committee, and the law specified that his tenure as a member of the MC could not be removed from the nine-year term.“The provisions of 6A and 6 (B) (2) (e) do not come to the rescue if a person is working in different positions, then the period of all positions should be combined under Clause 6 (B) (2) (g) of the KSCA Rules. The same is provided in Clause 3 (b) (i) of the BCCI rules, that there is no 9 years of ‘post’.“The office bearer is a member of the Management Committee or the Apex Council. Accordingly, it is clear that his term should be extended due to holding the position of the Management Committee as ‘office bearer’ or ‘Member of the Management Committee’, otherwise the total nine-year term for each of the BCCI and the State organization may be reduced,” said the order.Justice Mishra also observed that Rule 41 of the KSCA rules relating to tenure of office does not bar the present controversy.The Ombudsman directed the BCCI and the KSCA to take appropriate action.Following the order, KSCA President Venkatesh Prasad said in a statement that the association will seek legal action.“We have taken cognizance of the order issued by the BCCI Ombudsman and are now analyzing it in detail. Appropriate legal advice is being sought to review all possible options against the law,” Prasad said.He also referred to the earlier order of the KSCA ombudsman, who ordered Menon’s eligibility.“This is especially so since the order of 05 February 2026 issued by the Hon’ble Ombudsman of the KSCA, Justice (Retd.) AS Bopanna, which binds all members under the KSCA Bye-laws, but unfortunately, the BCCI ombudsman has had a different opinion on the matter. The legal consequences and the association of Prassad are currently being added to two investigations”.