Supreme Court Calls For Board Of Control For Cricket In India President To Step Down

Shocked at the revelations in the report submitted by the Justice Mukul Mudgal panel in a "sealed cover," the Indian Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Board of Control for Cricket in India President N. Srinivasan "to step down on his own to ensure a fair inquiry into allegations of betting in the Indian Premier League," according to J. Venkatesan of THE HINDU. A bench of Justices A.K. Patnaik and Ibrahim Kalifulla told senior counsel Aryama Sundaram, appearing for the BCCI, “You ask Mr. Srinivasan to step down, otherwise we will give our verdict asking him to step down.” The three-member panel appointed by the Supreme Court "had held that the role of Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in law of N. Srinivasan, in Chennai Super Kings as the team official and the allegations of betting and passing on information against him stood proved." The report also said, "The material on record clearly indicates that Mr. Gurunath was the face of Chennai Super Kings" (THE HINDU, 3/25).

TECTONIC SHIFT: In Dubai, Gautam Bhattacharyya wrote "the next two days can see a tectonic shift in the Indian cricket board." While the build-up to the seventh edition of IPL "took a bodyblow with the Indian apex court’s strong indictment of Srinivasan," his accession to the chairman’s post of the Int'l Cricket Council in June may not also be a smooth one with the recent developments. Patnaik said, “Why is Srinivasan sticking to his chair? If you don’t step down, then we will pass an order." The name of Shivlal Yadav, a senior BCCI VP from the South Zone and known to be close to Srinivasan, "is doing the rounds to take over should the strongman of Indian cricket step down" (GULF NEWS, 3/25). The AFP reported a two-judge panel warned it could order Srinivasan "to stand down unless he did so voluntarily as his continued presence in his post was hampering the investigation which involves his son-in-law." Patnaik said, "Unless the BCCI president stands down, there can be no fair investigation. It's nauseating" (AFP, 3/25). The AP reported Srinivasan's position on the BCCI "has been considered untenable" since a three-member committee, headed by Mudgal, found Meiyappan guilty of being in touch with illegal bookmakers in its report forwarded to the Supreme Court. The finding came after the Bombay high court last year referred to the two-member BCCI panel that initially cleared Meiyappan of his charges as "illegal and unconstitutional" (AP, 3/25). The HINDUSTAN TIMES reported at one stage, comparing the two reports -- one by an earlier inquiry committee comprising two retired judges of the Madras high court and the other by Mudgal appointed by the apex court, Patnaik asked, "Can we say that the probe report was managed and if we say so, then what will be the consequences?" The Supreme Court reportedly said, "You are filled with filth, there needs to be serious cleaning." Srinivasan "refused to comment," saying he has not seen the Supreme Court order (HINDUSTAN TIMES, 3/25).

SHOWN THE DOOR: The PTI reported former IPL Chair Lalit Modi hailed the Supreme Court's observation that Srinivasan should now "be shown the door from the Board once and for all." Modi wrote on Twitter, "Kudos to the Honourable Supreme Court for taking the most decisive action to say global cricket. Finally they have shown the door to Srini" (PTI, 3/25). The AFP reported in a sign that Srinivasan could face an internal challenge if he tries to cling to power, Yadav said that "the board should respect the court's views." Yadav: "It has to be carried out in total and BCCI will have to follow whatever the Apex Court has given." Asked if he was willing to take over, he replied, "Absolutely, I am ready to accept any responsibility given to me" (AFP, 3/25). The PTI reported pressure mounted with former cricketers and administrators "asking him to respect the Supreme Court observation that he should step down for a fair probe into the IPL fixing scandal." Former cricketers Mohinder Amarnath and Bishen Singh Bedi said that Srinivasan "should now step down," while former BCCI administrator and Rajasthan Cricket Association President Kishore Rungta also joined the chorus (PTI, 3/25). The PTI also reported three VPs joined former cricketers and administrators in asking Srinivasan "to respect the Supreme Court observation that he should step down." The beleaguered Srinivasan "now appeared isolated even within the Board" as three of the five VPs -- Yadav, Ravi Sawant and Chitrak Mitra -- asked him to abide by the Supreme Court observation (PTI, 3/25).

NO COMMENT FROM ICC: In London, Josh White wrote the judge requested that "lawyers for the BCCI read a sealed section of the report -- which has not been made available to the public -- and return to the court on Thursday when the case will continue." Srinivasan has not commented on the matter except to tell the NDTV network that he would “study” the court order. An ICC spokesperson said the world governing body “has no comment to offer at this stage” and that the case was “an internal matter of the BCCI" (LONDON TIMES, 3/25). The PTI reported "there was an eerie silence among the who's who of cricket administration." A senior BCCI official said, "Let's wait and watch. It will be very wrong to make any comments on Supreme Court observations. We should better wait till March 27 when the verdict will come out as then we will get a clearer picture" (PTI, 3/25).