Supreme Court allows Srinivasan to take charge as BCCI president

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, oct 8: Clearing the decks for under-fire N Srinivasan, Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed him to take charge as BCCI president. The court also set up a three-member committee to probe into the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing allegations. The panel will be headed by former Punjab High Court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal. A report has to be submitted by the panel in four months’ time.

The apex court has also directed BCCI and Srinivasan not to interfere in the probe. The committee will investigate Gurunath Meiyappan, the former team principal of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, and owners of Rajasthan Royals before filing a report on the erring IPL franchises, SC said.

 

Speaking to CNN-IBN, Mudgal said, "I have not yet received the order yet. I accept the offer and responsibility given to me by the court.


C Aryama Sundaram, corporate lawyer of the BCCI, explained the courts directive. "Srinivasan has himself made it very clear that he would not be involved in the investigation of IPL match-fixing allegations.

SC has formed a three-member committee to look into the allegations of match-fixing and betting. A four-month time has been given to the committee. BCCI will continue to function with Srinivasan as the president of BCCI.

"The independent probe panel was suggested by N Srinivasan himself much earlier. It is not a setback for either BCCI or Srinivasan," he added.

Srinivasan was re-elected unopposed as the president of the BCCI during the board’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on September 29.

On Monday, the Supreme Court had said that the controversial India Cements boss can’t be allowed to discharge his duties as BCCI president, though the SC suggested that it may allow him to do so if he distances himself from all matters related the IPL.

BCCI’s new head of operations, professor Ratnakar Shetty, welcomed the apex court’s decision. "Happy that the SC has allowed the board president to take charge. It’s very important for the functioning of the board. Board was happy with the probe panel decided by the Supreme Court," Shetty said.