JOIN USInternational Cricket Council president N Srinivasan on Monday told the Supreme Court that he had acted promptly by forming a three-member inquiry commission in May 2013 after taking note of allegations of betting against his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan.
Denying any cover-up in the probe, he submitted that the panel was set up to probe the scam on the suggestion of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who wanted the inquiry to be free from interference of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Srinivasan, said he was not given an opportunity at any point of time either before the Justice Mudgal Committee or the Bombay High Court to address the issue of conflict of interest.
A bench of Justices T S Thakur and F M I Kalifullah, which resumed hearing on the Mudgal panel report, took exception at Sibal naming Jaitley as he was not represented.
“You are repeatedly naming Jaitley, who is not represented here. He is not a party here. Don't attribute it to a person who is not represented here,” the bench told Sibal, who insisted that it was reflected in the record and later referred to in the minutes of the May 28, 2013, working committee meeting to substantiate his submission.
During the hearing, the bench asked Sibal to come clean on the conflict of interest charge. “We have a different opinion on the conflict of interest issue. You have to lift the veil,” it said when Sibal said there was no finding either by the Mudgal Committee or the high court against Srinivasan on the issue.
Sibal claimed he would demonstrate through records that there was no conflict of interest. He gave the example of different persons, including Sunil Gavaskar, Saurav Ganguly, Ravi Shastri, Venkatesh Prasad and Brijesh Patel, playing multiple roles being associated with either the BCCI or state cricket boards or IPL franchisees. He said the plea on conflict of interest raised against Srinivasan by the Cricket Association of Bihar was intended only to remove him.
During the hearing, the bench also wondered if the commission was set up taking in view the people named in the complaint.