Supreme Court asks Srini not to contest BCCI polls

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked BCCI’s president-in-exile N Srinivasan to keep off the race in the proposed elections to the board in view of the adverse finding against him in the Mudgal panel report.

A bench of Justices T S Thakur and F M I Kalifullah  suggested that the panel, which investigated betting and spot fixing in IPL-6, should also be allowed to deal with the punishment  in terms with the BCCI rules. Resuming its hearing on the panel's report, the bench once again found a direct conflict of interest due to the multiple roles played by Srinivasan as BCCI president and owner of the IPL franchisee Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

In order to examine the plea by Srinivasan that CSK was owned by India Cements Ltd (ICL), the court ordered CSK’s  counsel Mahesh Jethmalani to produce the composition of the board of directors of the company.  Srinivasan is the managing director of ICL. The panel had concluded that he, along with four BCCI officials, did not take action against an unidentified player for violation of code of conduct.

Questioning the continuance of the present office-bearer on the board, the bench asked: “Election has been proposed for the board. The board’s term is over. If we are to deal with the present board, why not allow elections to be held and all those people who are involved to stand aside.”

“There must be fresh elections. Let newly constituted board take over and take decision,” the bench said.

The BCCI’s AGM is slated for December 17. ICC chairman Srinivasan wants to contest elections, which have been re-scheduled pending proceedings before the apex court.
To BCCI counsel C A Sundaram’s suggestion that the court may decide about the punishment against those found guilty by the Mudgal panel, the bench asked: “If we are to do it, take action in terms of your rules and hand out punishment, we donot want to clutch at the power of the board. Let the new board take a decision.”

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Srinivasan, contended that the whole exercise before the apex court was not to allow him to contest elections. He said let Meiyappan face prosecution and Srinivasan would not stand in the way of action initiated against him.

 Sibal also accused the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) of raising the issue at the instance of Lalit Modi, suspended IPL commissioner. The court asked senior advocate Harish Salve, representing CAB, to tell under what juristic principle those found guilty by the panel should not be allowed to contest BCCI elections.

“The institutional integrity and standard of rectitude demanded that Srinivasan should be kept away from the board. The BCCI is a quasi-governmental body and the rule of law and constitutional integrity would apply on it,” Salve said, adding that  the game was getting a bad name due to the on-going controversy.