New Delhi, May 18 -- The Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not fall under the definition of a "public authority" under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, effectively placing the cricket body outside the ambit of transparency laws applicable to government institutions.

The decision, issued by Information Commissioner P R Ramesh, overturns a 2018 order by then CIC chief M Sridhar Acharyulu, which had classified the BCCI as a public authority and directed it to establish a mechanism for handling RTI applications.

The matter reached the Madras High Court after the BCCI challenged the earlier ruling, following which the court remanded the case back to the CIC in Septemb...