SC refuses relief to BCCI ex-chief Srinivasan in IPL cricket scam

The Supreme Court today reserved for further hearing its order on constituting a probe panel to investigate allegations against N Srinivasan, the forcibly-ousted chief of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), and 12 cricketers in connection with the Indian Premier League betting scandal.

A bench headed by Justice A K Patnaik suggested that the probe being conducted by the Justice Mudgal Committee should be allowed to take its course, after the BCCI and Srinivasan opposed further investigation by the committee and pleaded for setting up a fresh panel.

The bench said it cannot come to any findings regarding the allegations leveled by the Mudgal committee report against Srinivasan and 12 others until a duly constituted probe committee looks into the allegations.

The court said that it had suggested further probe by the Mudgal Committee itself to maintain confidentiality of the allegations. It said that the allegations would be known to other people if a fresh panel comprising new members is allowed to conduct the probe.

Earlier, the apex court had asked the Committee whether it will be willing to conduct further probe against Srinivasan and 12 others in the scandal.

It had said that the committee will be given assistance by investigating agencies if it agrees to conduct further probe against 13 people who were named by it in a sealed envelope after it conducted initial investigation in the scandal.

BCCI had also informed the court that it had decided to constitute a three-member panel to further probe the scandal but the bench said it will pass the order after hearing all the parties and after considering Justice Mudgal Committee's reply.

The all-powerful working committee of the Board had in its emergent meeting on 20 April decided to suggest the names of former all-rounder Ravi Shastri, former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice JN Patel and ex-CBI director R.K. Raghavan as members of the probe committee.

The apex court had on April 16 expressed reservations over a SIT or CBI probe, saying that institutional autonomy of the Board has to be maintained and a committee constituted by the BCCI to look into the issue would be preferred.

The court had said that it cannot ''close its eyes'' to the allegations made by its probe committee in the scandal and a probe must be conducted to clear the air as some prominent players were named in the report submitted in sealed envelop.

Earlier, Justice Mudgal, who had headed a three-member committee, had submitted a report in a sealed envelope to the court.