IPL CORRUPTION ISSUE WILL BE LISTED FOR FRIDAY BEFORE THE APEX COURT OF INDIA. The Supreme Court on Friday will resume the hearing on corruption in IPL based on the findings of the Mudgal Commission report, which was submitted to the court on February 10. The three-member committee, led by former High Court judge Mukul Mudgal, concluded that Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of N Srinivasan, BCCI president and owner of Chennai Super Kings, had indulged in betting and passing information during matches in last years IPL as alleged. The inquiry panel also said that Meiyappan was actually part of the Super Kings franchise at the time and not just an enthusiast as claimed by Srinivasan. The panel also pulled up Raj Kundra, a co-owner in the Rajasthan Royals franchise, for resorting to placing bets through a bookie, who had made statements to a Delhi court earlier. Last July, a two-member BCCI-appointed panel comprising a pair of retired judges (T Jayaram Chouta and R Balasubramanian) had found no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of Gurunath and Kundra. However, the Mudgal panel pointed out that the question of whether or not Gurunath had been involved in match-fixing and spot-fixing not been investigated thoroughly by the anti-corruption units of the ICC and the BCCI or the Crime Branch Criminal Investigation Department of the Chennai police, even though some information was available for such an investigation to be conducted. Gurunath had already admitted to betting in his statement to the Mumbai Police, which had originally arrested him last year. His recorded statement was part of the Mumbai Police chargesheet. The audiotapes have not been submitted to the court yet because they have gone for forensic testing. The other two members of the Mudgal panel are additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao and Assam Cricket Association member Nilay Dutta. The panel was set up by the Supreme Court in October 2013 to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against Gurunath, the Super Kings team owner India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals team owner Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Ltd, as well as with the larger mandate of allegations around betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches and the involvement of players. The case dates back to last June when the Cricket Association of Bihar secretary Aditya Verma raised charges of conflict of interest in the formation of BCCIs two-member inquiry panel. A Bombay High Court ruling later termed the probe panel illegal. The BCCI and the CAB filed petitions in the Supreme Court against this order, with the CAB contending that the Bombay High Court could have suggested a fresh mechanism to look into the corruption allegations.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 14:03:43 +0000
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