The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that betting by Gurunath Meiyappan — son-in-law of the sidelined BCCI president N Srinivasan — was like insider trading wherein even if he was not placing bets in his own name, he was passing on the information to bookies.
“It is like an insider trading. Even if Gurunath Meiyappan may not be betting in his own name, he was passing on the information to bookies,” said the apex court bench of Justice TS Thakur and Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla as senior counsel Harish Salve told the court that Meiyappan was in the know of every move of the IPl franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
The court’s observation came as Salve appearing for the petitioner Cricket Association of Bihar told the court: “Having access to the players, Gurunath Meiyappan was privy to the strategy to be followed in the game and the way team would pursue a match.”
Targeting Srinivasan for covering up the actions of Meiyappan, Salve told the court “What is important is that he (Meiyappan) was betting” and BCCI has set very high standards for themselves for dealing with corruption. They (BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Code) come with very heavy military boots on betting.”
“But even then betting will continue, the issue is (that the) people associated with it (BCCI and IPl) should be clean and must stay away” from such prohibited activities, the court observed as Salve read to the court the Anti-Corruption Code of BCCI.
Salve also told the court that BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Code extended to the IPl in an attempt to nail Srinivasan on account of Meiyappan’s involvement in betting as concluded by the Mudgal Committee in its final report.
The Anti-Corruption Code of the BCCI says that an official of the cricketing body would be accountable even if his guest indulges in activities that violates the code. Salve pointing to the stringent provision said that Meiyappan has been described as a “Team Official” in the Mudgal Committee report and Director, India Cements, in the Feb 3 BCCI letter to the Mudgal probe panel relating to 2011 accreditation of CSK officials.