Srinivasan says he will speak when he is in a position to do that

Srinivasan said he would stay away from the investigation of the probe panel set up by the Supreme Court

"I am not going into the matter concerning Gurunath, which is a subject matter of Supreme Court. Why should I go
into a matter which is sub-judice," Srinivasan said.

"There are some allegations and somebody is looking after them. The thing is I was not involved in the setting up of the
(earlier) probe panel. I stepped aside on June 2 and the probe panel was set up by the BCCI Working Committee on June 10. "I have been under a savaged attack from the media. The media might have wanted me to go but I am blameless and so I stayed put. I am not an accused," he said. He said the BCCI members reposed faith on him in the September 29 AGM despite what had happened.

"I was elected unanimously as president at the AGM. Despite that the members were asked whether they have faith in
me in the light of all that had been happening and they said yes. They reposed faith on me," he said.

Srinivasan said he would stay away from the investigation of the probe panel set up by the Supreme Court and will
cooperate with the inquiry according to what the apex court told him. "I have been told not to get involved in IPL matters and
cooperate with the probe. I will do exactly what the Supreme Court has said," he said. He said he "will speak out in detail about the whole issue when I am in a position to do that".

Credits: saharasamay

Full Text: What the Supreme Court said about the IPL, Srinivasan and BCCI

The Supreme Court has instructed the three-member panel Justice Mukul Mudgal consider just two specific issues in its investigation of the 2013 IPL, both of which were part of the original public interest litigation filed by the Cricket Association of Bihar. The two issues are: a) The allegations of betting and spot-fixing in the IPL matches against Gurunath Meiyappan, the team principal of Chennai Superkings, 3rd respondent and the players and the 4th respondent/team owner of IPL franchisee Rajasthan Royals. 

The BCCI must co-operate with the probe panel, but the panel has not been given any summoning or investigatory powers. Reuters (b) The allegations against Gurunath Meiyappan, the respondents 3 and 4 with regard to their involvement in spot-fixing and betting. The third respondent is India Cements, the owners of Chennai Super Kings, while the fourth is Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited, the owners of Rajasthan Royals. 

This means that N Srinivasan and the BCCI have been excluded from the ambit of the probe, which is why the court allowed Srinivasan to take charge of the board. In the court’s order, there is also no mention of a time limit for the probe, though it has been reported, including by Firstpost, that the panel has four months to submit its report. There is also no mention of any investigatory or summoning power that has been granted to the panel. As far as collecting evidence goes, the court has merely asked the BCCI to “cooperate with the probe by giving all necessary information and documents and materials to the Probe Committee.”

 The court also chose not to comment on the veracity of the BCCI’s earlier probe, which exonerated all concerned. The full text of the Supreme Court’s order is reproduced below: Heard learned counsel for the parties. We had passed an order on 27th September, 2013 in the interlocutory application that the proposed Annual General Meeting of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) may be held on 29th September, 2013 as scheduled and election in the Annual General Meeting may also be held and in case the respondent No. 2 (N. Srinivasan) is elected as President, he will not take charge until further orders. After the aforesaid order, the Annual General Meeting of the BCCI as well as the election in the Annual General Meeting were held and the respondent No. 2 was elected as the President. 

Considering the fact that in PIL Petition No. 55 of 2013 which was filed by the petitioner before the Bombay High Court, the petitioner had challenged the constitution of the Probe Committee comprising two retired Judges of the Madras High Court and the Bombay High Court in the impugned order had held the constitution of the Probe Committee as ultra vires the IPL Rules and considering the fact that the respondent No. 2 (Srinivasan) has been re-elected as the President of the BCCI, we need to constitute a Probe Committee for inquiring into the allegations of betting and spot-fixing against Gurunath Meiyappan, who happens to be the son-in-law of the respondent No. 2, as well as the team owner of IPL Franchisee Rajasthan Royals. 

Without casting any aspersion on the two retired Judges of the Madras High Court who constituted the earlier Probe Committee, and considering the fact that the Mumbai Police has submitted the charge sheet against Gurunath Meiyappan, we are of the view that a Probe Committee comprising members who can function independently of the BCCI and its President (respondent No. 2) should be constituted for probing the allegations referred to in the PIL Petition filed before the Bombay High Court. 

When the matter was taken up in Court on 7th October, 2013, we suggested that a fresh Probe Committee comprising Mr. Justice Mukul Mudgal, (retired Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court), Mr. L. Nageswara Rao, Senior Advocate and Additional Solicitor General and Mr. Nilay Dutta, Senior Advocate, who are well-acquainted with the sport of cricket, should constitute the Probe Committee. We, therefore, requested the learned counsel for the parties, to offer their comments on the proposed Probe Committee. When the matter was taken up today, the rival parties had no objection to the composition of the proposed Probe Committee.

 We, therefore, appoint a Committee comprising: (i) Mr. Justice Mukul Mudgal (Retired Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court as Chairman. (ii) Mr. L. Nageswara Rao, Senior Advocate and Additional Solicitor General as Member. (iii) Mr. Nilay Dutta, Senior Advocate, Gauhati High Court as Member. The Registry will send a copy of the PIL Petition No. 55 of 2013 which was filed before the High Court and which is also part of the record of this Court to the Chairman and other two Members of the Committee with copies of this order and the Probe Committee so constituted will inquire only into the following allegations which are the subject matter of prayers (a) and (b) of the PIL Petition filed before the High Court:- (a) the allegations of betting and spot-fixing in the IPL matches against Gurunath Meiyappan, the team principal of Chennai Superkings, 3rd respondent and the players and the 4th respondent/team owner of IPL franchisee Rajasthan Royals. (b) the allegations against Gurunath Meiyappan, the respondents 3 and 4 with regard to their involvement in spot-fixing and betting. 

The BCCI will bear all the expenses of travel, boarding and lodging. The Chairman and the Members of the Committee will also be entitled to a fee of Rs. 1 lakh per working day from the BCCI. In view of the constitution of the Probe Committee and exclusion of the BCCI as well as respondent No. 2 from the probe, it will be open for respondent No. 2 to take charge of the BCCI as its President. We, however, make it clear that the BCCI or respondent No. 2 will not in any way interfere with the probe conducted by the Probe Committee and shall cooperate with the probe by giving all necessary information and documents and materials to the Probe Committee.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/sports/full-text-what-the-supreme-court-said-about-the-ipl-srinivasan-and-bcci-1162491.html?utm_source=ref_article

BCCI and Srinivasan prove that cricket fans are still the biggest suckers

Look in the mirror. Now look at your forehead. Can you read the word? It should be pretty clear. The word on your forehead is SUCKER! It is what you are. Don’t feel bad, you aren’t alone. The nation is right there with you. The Supreme Court has ruled that N Srinivasan can return as head of the BCCI. And there you were all this while innocently thinking that the whole IPL saga would change things for the better. N Srinivasan and the BCCI win again. 

PTI Here is the kicker of the Supreme Court ruling: While Srinivasan can assume his duties as president, he cannot interfere with the IPL probe panel but at the same time must extend all the cooperation required by the investigators. Let me see if I get this straight. The man whose son-in-law is one of the accused in the IPL betting case has to co-operate with and provide evidence to the investigation panel? If only Laloo Prasad got such a break. Is Srinivasan going to be honest in helping with the investigation? Well, we have no cause to doubt him. 

After all the only thing he has done is change the constitution of the BCCI to allow himself to own an IPL team, been accused of manipulation in the player auction (no evidence produced yet to support this claim), and described his accused son in law as “cricket enthusiast” and not a team owner despite all evidence to the contrary. So why doubt such a man? Srinivasan also cannot concern himself with matters related to the IPL. That is like telling Cyrus Mistry that he can head the Tata Group but not concern himself with TCS. If you were one of the idiots who believed that the scandal would cause a huge change in the system and things would become transparent then you are disillusioned. The scandal saw the return of Jagmohan Dalmiya in a triumphant but brief comeback till Srinivasan sent him back to the bench. We also saw the return of Lalit Modi on our TV screens. 

While I am a fan of what Lalit Modi created it must be said that he has become a bore. Since his departure he has promised that he would blow the lid on the entire IPL saga and take Srinivasan down. What are you waiting for Lalit? Srinivasan to become Prime Minister? If you have something then spit it out or else stop making vague threats. You are starting to sound like a disgruntled ex-wife. So we are back to where we started. It was bittersweet when the fixing scandal broke. Bitter as a fan of course, but sweet that the people responsible were caught. We were all impressed by what the warring Delhi and Mumbai police uncovered. It was an opportunity to investigate and see how deep the rabbit hole really is.

 I find it hard to believe that we have even touched the surface of how bad the situation really is. With Srinivasan back at the helm it seems we never will, no matter what this independent probe panel is supposed to do. Does Srinivasan give any impression that he cares about the sanctity of the game? Since the scandal broke his sole focus has been keeping his power. Solving the match-fixing issue is secondary or may be not even on his list of priorities. So sit back, watch the sport and enjoy. Leave the running and administration issues alone, it is not worth getting angry about. You can’t do a thing. Sucker!

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/sports/bcci-and-srinivasan-prove-that-cricket-fans-are-still-the-biggest-suckers-1162263.html?utm_source=ref_article

SC order to investigate IPL has potential to clip BCCI’s wings

Yesterday’s Supreme Court judgement ordering an investigation into the IPL (Indian Premier League) holds the promise of letting a ray of sunshine into the BCCI’s (Board of Control for Cricket in India) corridors by chipping away at the board’s ability to control both the message and the outcome. The BCCI stands true to its name: it loves to control cricket in India. 

These days, of course, it desires to control world cricket too, as the shenanigans over the South Africa tour; the election of Laxman Sivaramakrishnan to the ICC player’s committee and its stand on DRS make that abundantly clear. Rajeev Shukla said it loudest and proudest just two days ago: “What the US is to the UN, the BCCI is to the International Cricket Council. The BCCI has earned its reputation and one should appreciate this, rather than criticise.” Essentially, the board sees itself as the only super power in the cricketing world, which logically puts every other cricket playing country beneath it. 

In its most recent annual report, neither BCCI president N Srinivasan nor secretary Sanjay Patil mentioned the IPL spot-fixing scandal by name. AFP The board currently requires players to get written permission from it before they can give interviews and demands commentators not talk about team selection, DRS or the board, as Ian Chappell revealed to the Hindustan Times. India may be a democracy, but the BCCI is no fan of free speech. In its most recent annual report, neither BCCI president N Srinivasan nor secretary Sanjay Patil mentioned the IPL spot-fixing scandal by name. 

Srinivasan didn’t bother to mention it at all, writing that the, “IPL, in its sixth year, was a great success in terms of cricket content and attendance at all matches”. Patel at least referred to a “crisis arising out of IPL-VI” but in the same breath claimed the board had already addressed it. The board’s mantra can be summed up as follows: See no evil and speak no evil. Since it has always claimed it is answerable to no one but itself, this is an attitude that has worked well. The board tried to keep the court-ordered investigation into the IPL in house by suggesting it would appoint officials unconnected with the IPL. 

However, the Supreme Court not only appointed a three-member panel to investigate the 2013 IPL, but two members come from outside the board. The panel will also submit its report directly to the court and not the BCCI. This is unprecedented in the history of cricket administration in India. Even in the dark days of the match-fixing allegations in 1999 and 2000, the BCCI was not beholden to any other institution. The CBI may have prepared its own report on match-fixing, but the report was not binding on the BCCI. The board did ban Mohammad Azharuddin and a handful of other players, but no charges were ever brought and the bans were overturned while the BCCI went on with business as usual.

 They dusted off the same playbook after S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila were arrested during the IPL’s sixth season. The first two have already been banned for life, with Chandila likely to follow suit. At the same time, the BCCI did its best to squash any action against Gurunath Meiyappan and the Chennai Super Kings. Public pressure may have forced N Srinivasan to step aside as board president and set up a panel to investigate the allegations of betting and spot-fixing, but the BCCI was quick to stack the deck. The two retired Madras High Court judges that made up the panel were barred from collecting evidence from any source other than the board. 

After the Cricket Association of Bihar challenged the probe’s finding, the BCCI was unable to explain to the Bombay High court who appointed the judges in the first place, moving the court to state the CAB “has made out a prima-facie case that respondent No. 2 (N Srinivasan) was involved in the formation of the commission”. At the very least, the judges said, the BCCI had failed to prove Srinivasan had nothing to do with it. This time around, the Supreme Court may have allowed Srinivasn to take charge as BCCI president, but it has ordered him to stay away from the probe and all matters related to the IPL. It has also ordered the board not to interfere with the panel, holding up the promise that an actual investigation may take place. Justice Mukul Mugdal, who heads the panel, is known as a man of integrity and has publicly said the probe won’t be an eyewash.

 The court has handed him the responsibility of upholding the interests of cricket fans all across the country, a responsibility that is not to be taken lightly. Much will depend on the terms of reference for the probe, which are yet to be declared. A narrow lens could handicap the investigation from the start, reducing the process to little more than an academic exercise. For now though, there is hope that the BCCI won’t be able to sweep everything under the carpet. Aditya Verma, the secretary of the CAB, who filed the case, told Firstpost, “this is a very big victory. The court will uncover the rot in the BCCI and clear it out”. For the first time, that might actually be a possibility.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/sports/sc-order-to-investigate-ipl-has-potential-to-clip-bccis-wings-1161373.html?utm_source=ref_article

Supreme Court allows N Srinivasan to take charge as BCCI chief

The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed N Srinivasan to take charge as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president and formed a fresh probe panel to investigate IPL6 spot-fixing scandal.

"Srinivasan can take over as BCCI president, but we have also formed a new probe panel to investigate the case," ruled AK Patnaik, one of the two judges who heard the case.

The three-member probe panel will be headed by Mukul Mudgal, former chief justice of Punjab and Haryana high court. The court has asked the panel to submit the inquiry report within four months and directed the board not to influence or interfere in the enquiry.

It is learnt that apex court has asked the BCCI chief to cooperate in the probe and should keep himself away from the probe.

Apart from Mudgal, the other members of the three-member panel are senior advocate Niloy Dutta and additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao.

Srinivasan, 68, widely regarded as the most powerful man in world cricket, had been barred by the court from taking charge since his election as the BCCI chief for a third year on September 29.

(With input from agencies)

Credits: timesofindia

IPL spot-fixing: Blow to N Srinivasan as Supreme Court proposes new probe panel

There seems to be no end to troubles for Indian cricket board president N Srinivasan as the Supreme Court on Monday mooted a new probe into the Indian Premier League spot-fixing scam by an independent three-member committee.

A bench of Justices AK Patnaik and Jagdish S Khehar said it wanted an independent panel that will not only investigate the IPL scandal but also give recommendations to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

It also turned down board’s plea that the proposed panel should find out if further probe is required into all the issues mentioned in the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai Police in the scandal.

The bench said the panel would conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations and submit its report to the Supreme Court.

“Mumbai Police can go on its own. Let the panel make an independent inquiry and give report to the Supreme Court and suggest remedial measures,” it said.

Deliberating on a petition filed by the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB), the court suggested a three-member panel, headed by former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana high court Mukul Mudgal to probe the IPL scandal.

The court asked the counsel of the CAB, represented by senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and the BCCI to come up with their suggestions and adjourned the case till Tuesday morning.

The other members of the three-member panel are senior advocate Nilay Dutta and Additional Solicitor General L Nageshwar Rao. Interestingly, Rao is also a cricketer.

The apex court had on August 30 heard the petition filed by Aditya Verma, secretary, CAB, challenging the high court’s order refusing to appoint a fresh committee to probe the scam. BCCI panel gave a clean chit to CSK and RR owners who faced charges of betting in the IPL.

Credits: dnaindia