Loud Thinking

Supreme Court tells N. Srinivasan to step down as BCCI president for fair IPL scam probe
NDTVCricket | Updated: March 25, 2014 11:16 IST

The Supreme Court has asked N. Srinivasan to step down as BCCI president to ensure a fair probe of the Indian Premier League fixing and betting scandal. Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, who was a team official of Chennai Super Kings, has been indicted by a Supreme Court appointed inquiry committee of betting and sharing team information.

A two-member Supreme Court bench comprising Justice AK Patnaik and Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla is hearing on Tuesday the inquiry reports submitted by the Justice Mukul Mudgal committee on betting and match-fixing in Indian Premier League 2013.

The Mudgal committee submitted two reports to the Supreme Court on February 10. The first, signed by retired judge Justice Mudgal and Additional Solicitor General of India L. Nageswara Rao, asked the court to “decide the further course of action” because the probe committee did not have the power to impose punishment. Another supplementary report, signed by Nilay Dutta, a vice-president of Assam Cricket Association and a member of the IPL Governing Council, said: “This should not be misinterpreted to mean that the report suggests that the Hon’ble Court would decide on the punishment or penalty to be imposed.”

The BCCI, which supports Dutta’s comments, now wants the Supreme Court to let it start fresh disciplinary proceedings against Gurunath and Chennai Super Kings under the IPL franchise rules.