HC rules BCCI probe illegal

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday dealt a major blow to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its “president-in-exile” N Srinivasan, holding the two-member panel that probed the spot-fixing charges in IPL as “illegal and unconstitutional.”

The probe panel comprising retired high court judges T Jayaram Chouta and R Balasubramanian, in its report submitted on Sunday, had given a clean chit to Srinivasan and Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra.

The Bombay High Court ruling came on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Cricket Association of Bihar and its secretary Aditya Verma challenging the institution of the two-member panel by the BCCI.

The petition alleged blatant bias on part of Srinivasan in instituting a probe panel, as he is the vice-chairman and managing director of India Cements Ltd that owns the Chennai Super Kings, besides the fact that he himself faced the allegations.

The PIL requested the court to form a panel of retired judges as it may deem fit to hold an inquiry into the matter.