Supreme Court asks for report by August end in allegations against Srinivasan and 12 others
The Supreme Court on Friday directed a probe against former board president N Srinivasan and 12 players in the IPl betting and spot-fixing scandal and gave the task of investigation to the Justice Mukul Mudgal committee.
In what was a setback for the president, the apex court turned down BCCI'S proposal to get the probe done by its panel. Justice Mudgal , along with his team, had conducted the probe in the scandal and had submitted in a sealed envelope in which names of Srinivasan and 12 cricketers were mentioned.
A bench headed by Justice A K Patnaik asked the Mudgal Committee, also comprising of Additional Solicitor General l Nageshwar Rao and advocate Niloy Dutta, to complete the probe and file its report in a sealed envelop by the end of August.
The bench said that a group of investigators headed by senior IPS officer B B Mishra will assist Justice Mudgal and his team in probe. The panel would have the power to probe, search and seize relevant documents and record evidence, it said.The panel would also be assisted by Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai police, would not have the power to arrest any person.
It also said that Sunil Gavaskar and Shivlal Yadav, who were appointed as interim presidents of BCCI after Srinivasan stepped aside from the post, will continue to do their jobs till further orders.
The apex court said that further probe by the Mudgal Committee itself is needed to maintain confidentiality of the allegations levelled against Srinivasan and others. It said that the allegations would be known to other people if a fresh panel comprising new members is allowed to conduct the probe.
The court had on April 29 reserved its order on constituting a probe panel to investigate allegations against Srinivasan and 12 cricketers after BCCI and Srinivasan opposed further investigation by Mudgal Committee and pleaded for setting up a fresh panel.
It had said it cannot come to any finding regarding the allegations levelled by the Mudgal Committee report against Srinivasan and 12 others until a duly constituted probe committee looks into the allegations.
Fully satisfied with the SC order: Verma
Cricket Association of Bihar secretary Aditya Verma on Friday expressed his satisfaction at the Supreme Court order. "I am fully satisfied with the order passed by the Honourable Supreme Court on Friday giving all power to former High Court judge Mukul Mudgal to investigate the spot fixing and corruption in the IPl VI last season," Verma was quoted as saying in a press release.
"The committee will also investigate the 13 names including one of N Srinivasan that was presented to Supreme Court in a sealed envelope on February 10," Verma said.
The Honourable Supreme Court also rejected the probe committee that was suggested by the BCCI. It also rejected the BCCI plea not to appoint the Mudgal Committee saying any leakage of the 13 names in the sealed envelope would "damage the reputation of some people in cricket beyond repair."
"The Mudgal Committee has been asked by the court to present their report by the end of August this year. During this period, Mr Sunil Gavaskar and Shivlal Yadav would continue to run the BCCI as directed by the court earlier," the release further stated.
"IPS officer BB Mishra would assist the Mudgal Committee and they will choose a police officer from Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi each to help the investigation. The committee has also been directed to select a former cricketer of repute as a part of the investigation team." The Supreme Court also ordered the Government of India and the state governments to offer their full support to the Mudgal Committee.