MCA president vows to move High Court after secretary allegedly tried to shut down independent probe into players’ harassment
Meghalaya Cricket Association president James P K Sangma said he will move the High Court after the secretary sought to stop the ombudsman's office from functioning amid a sexual harassment complaint by women cricketers. He said the inquiry must not be derailed and that the association has to protect its women players and uphold their dignity.
- May 23, 2026,
- Updated May 23, 2026, 4:16 PM IST
- Under-23 women players filed sexual harassment complaints on May 8
- The allegations directly name the team's head coach and manager
- Players say earlier complaints from December drew no inquiry or reply
The president of the Meghalaya Cricket Association (MCA), James PK Sangma, said on Saturday, May 23, he would seek High Court intervention after the association's Secretary allegedly moved to disable the office of the independent Ombudsman — held by a retired High Court judge — one day after women cricketers had filed a sexual harassment complaint before it.
MCA President James PK Sangma said Secretary Rayonald Kharkamni convened a meeting of Apex Council members on May 9 without his knowledge or approval, a move he described as unconstitutional.
Kharkamni subsequently wrote to the Ombudsman informing the office that it may not function until further process was completed.
The complaint before the Ombudsman had been filed the previous day, on May 8, by members of the MCA Under-23 Women's Cricket Team, who have accused the squad's head coach and manager of sexual harassment. Sangma had written a supporting letter to the Ombudsman the same day, requesting a detailed investigation and protection for the players.
The Secretary's move the very next day to potentially nullify that office drew a sharp response from the President.
"I will seek to approach the Hon'ble Meghalaya High Court in order to ensure that the enquiry by the Ombudsman against the errant officials is not derailed through technical nuances," Sangma said.
The players first raised the complaints in December last year before the then-officials of MCA, including the Secretary Kharkamni.
No inquiry was conducted, no response was sent to the complainants, and neither of the accused was removed or suspended. The matter came to public attention only after the players escalated it to the Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW), which is now conducting a formal inquiry.
Sangma also drew attention to what he called a deliberate pattern of institutional failure, pointing to a prolonged vacancy in the Ombudsman's post that left players without any independent redressal mechanism through the very period the harassment complaints were first made.
Under Supreme Court-approved Lodha Committee reforms and BCCI rules, every state cricket association is required to maintain an Ombudsman, a post that must be held by a retired High Court judge at minimum. In the MCA, the post had been vacant after 2024.
After assuming charge as President on January 13 this year, Sangma convened an Apex Council meeting on March 7 at which Justice (Retd.) B.D. Agarwal, a former judge of the Gauhati High Court, was appointed to the position. Kharkamni was present at that meeting.
The MSCW has summoned Kharkamni and three former officials, former President Nababrata Bhattacharjee, former Treasurer Dhrubajyoti Thakuria, and former Cricket Operations Manager Shining Star Lyngdoh, to appear before its Chairperson on May 26 over their alleged failure to act on the original complaints.
The coach and team manager named in the harassment complaints appeared before the Commission on May 21; findings have not yet been made public.
Sangma was unequivocal about what the association must stand for.
"Sexual harassment and any conduct that endorses, enables, conceals it, or results in non-redressal has absolutely no place in this organisation," he said, adding that the MCA must be a place of trust, dignity, and safety for every player, official, and staff member.
He reserved his sharpest words for those he said had failed the players.
"We have to protect our women cricketers and uphold their dignity. They are our pride who go and give their hard work, sweat and commitment for our state every day," he said.
"And while living in a matrilineal society, we cannot fail them,” he added.
Should the inquiry confirm the allegations, Sangma said the association would not hesitate to act.
"Speaking the truth is often not the easiest thing to do, but it is always the right thing to do,” he said.
The names of the players who filed the complaints have not been made public. The inquiry is ongoing.
