BackCricket Association of Bihar says Supreme Court can review BCCI functioning
Cricket Association of Bihar told the court that the board performs a public function in overseeing cricketing events in the country
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court can review the functioning of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), a non-statutory body, because it performs a public function, the apex court was told on Tuesday.
Petitioner Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) told the court that the board performs a public function in overseeing cricketing events in the country.
Lawyer Harish Salve, representing the CAB, told the court that the association wanted the BCCI’s established mechanisms and rules to deal with betting and corruption to be enforced against sidelined board president N. Srinivasan.
A two-judge bench of justices T.S. Thakur and F.M.I. Kalifullah wondered whether the BCCI would enforce the rules or the court’s intervention was required for addressing instances of misconduct.
These observations, made during the course of the hearing, may or may not have a bearing on the final decision.
The court questioned why CAB wanted action to be taken against Srinivasan, given that the final report of the Mukul Mudgal committee, which was set up to probe alleged betting and spot-fixing in last year’s edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), made no mention of his involvement in such wrongdoing.
Salve said that the BCCI had told the probe committee to take action against Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, who the panel found had engaged in betting on matches, and not the franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) owned by India Cements Ltd, of which Srinivasan is the managing director.
Investigators found that Meiyappan was a team principal, but CSK has described him as a mere cricket enthusiast.
Salve showed the court a letter dated 3 February 2014, which the BCCI sent in response to a communication from CSK that ostensibly sought a “gold pass and a management blue pass" for Meiyappan. The letter also described Meiyappan as owner, the court was told. Mint has not seen a copy of the letters.
The court will hear the case again at 10.30am on 27 November.
The court is presently hearing the IPL spot-fixing and betting case and trying to determine the future course of action after the panel that it had set up under Mudgal, a former judge, to investigate the allegations submitted its final report on 3 November.
Apoorva contributed to this story.
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