‘My family and I were distressed’ - Amitabh Choudhary’s family sends legal notice to JSCA amid gold statue tribute plans

Former administrator and secretary of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), Amitabh Choudhary, passed away in August 2022. The late official was monumental in the development of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA).

After his passing, the JSCA decided to install a gold statue in his honour, as a way of protecting his legacy. However, the family of the late administrator is reportedly unhappy with the JSCA over the plan to install a gold or marble statue in his name. 

Wednesday, August 16, will be the first death anniversary of Choudhary, and with the JSCA planning the statue, it was reported by the Times of India that the son of Amitabh Choudhary, Abhishek, has sent a legal notice to the JSCA in order to stop the installation of the gold statue. It was reported that the late administrator’s family thought that the state cricket association paying their tributes in such a manner would be an insult to every sacrifice that his father made.

"My family and I were distressed to learn by way of media reports that the current management of JSCA intends on installing a gold or marble statue of my father and is planning to announce the decision or lay the foundation on his first death anniversary," Abhishek was quoted as saying by News 18.

"My father would not have consented to be idolised in this manner, which ultimately commemorates the figure and persona, but runs contrary to his body of work and deeper values. He lived his entire life with simplicity. Personal aggrandisement and ostentation were anathema to him. The spending of crores of rupees to install such a statue would be a mockery of the ideals for which he made tremendous sacrifices," he added.

Planned Gold statue to cost around One Crore

Furthermore, the report stated that the JSCA planned on installing a 10- to 12-foot statue, which could have been worth INR 1 crore. Furthermore, the gold-framed portrait would cost around INR 50 lakh. Abhishek was also quite unhappy that the decision for the statue installation was taken without the family’s consent.

"Further, the taking of such a decision without providing notice to his family, let alone obtaining their consent, constitutes an impingement on the family’s expression of private grief on the solemn occasion," Abhishek said.