Unfazed by a Bombay High Court order which declared its probe into the IPl spot-fixing scandal “illegal”, a defiant N Srinivasan will chair the BCCI’s working committee here on Friday, signalling his formal return to the top post despite the furore.
The crucial meeting will mark Srinivasan’s return to the President’s post after nearly two months since he stepped aside pending an internal inquiry into the spot-fixing scandal which rocked the sixth edition of the IPl. BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel made it clear that Srinivasan will chair the meeting as he has resumed his duty as the President, putting an end to the suspense over who will chair the conclave which will discuss all the legal implications of the High Court order and chalk out a future course of action.
“He (Srinivasan) is the BCCI chief and he has already started working. There is no confusion as to who will chair tomorrow’s working committee meeting. Nobody till now has forced Mr Srinivasan to resign,” Patel said. Srinivasan refused to talk to the media on his arrival here, telling reporters at the airport to allow him to go. An internal probe by two retired judges had cleared president-in-exile Srinivasan’s franchise Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra of charges of betting and spot-fixing.
Hearing a Public Interest litigation filed by the Cricket Association of Bihar, a two-judge division bench declared the two-member BCCI probe panel “unconstitutional and illegal”, taking the Board completely by surprise. According to a BCCI source, the Working Committee will take a decision on whether to immediately appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court or wait till the police completes its probe in the matter. It can also explore the option of forming a new probe panel to reinvestigate the scandal.
Shah calls for fresh probe
BCCI Vice President Niranjan Shah on Thursday became the first senior official to openly call for a fresh probe into the IPl spot-fixing scandal, saying such a step was needed as the Board’s “image has really gone down”.
In a significant development ahead of the crucial Working Committee meeting, Shah said it was imperative to do something to improve the image of the Board, taking into account the recent Bombay High court order.
“Board’s legal team will take care of it, they will advise tomorrow. We must have another panel, let’s wait for tomorrow for the IPl (GC) and Working Committee meeting,” Shah said.
“At the moment, in the view of the Bombay High court judgement, Board should ensure that nothing like this happens in future, BCCI should take strict measures, we have zero policy against Corruption,” he added.
‘We’ll move court again’
After the Bombay High Court declared the BCCI’s probe into the IPl spot-fixing scandal as “illegal and unconstitutional” on its PIl, Cricket Association of Bihar threatened to move court again in the event of N Srinivasan chairing the Working Committee meeting here on Friday.
“The court has categorically termed the two-member probe set up by him as illegal. He has no authority to chair the working committee meeting. In case he does, we will move petition against him. It will be a clear violation of the court orders,” Verma, the secretary of Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB), told reporters here.