The Supreme Court on Friday declined to pass an order to restrain BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan from taking over as president in September third week.
A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and R.M. Lodha said if interim injunction was granted nothing would be left to decide in the main appeal.
The Bench, while allowing Mr. Srinivasan to take over as president, however, made it clear that this would be subject to final orders to be passed in the appeal, filed by the former BCCI president, A.C. Muthiah, against a Madras High Court interim order raising the issue of “conflict of interest.”
A Bench of Justices J.M. Panchal and Gyan Sudha Misra, which heard the appeal earlier, gave a split verdict on April 28. While one judge held that it was a fit case for grant of injunction, the other disagreed with it, and as a result the matter was referred to the CJI for posting it before another Bench.
Mr. Muthiah filed an application for a direction to restrain Mr. Srinivasan from taking over as president. This application was posted for hearing before the Bench of justices Alam and Lodha.
Senior counsel Abhishek Singhvi and Nalini Chidambaram, appearing for Mr. Muthiah, submitted that Mr. Srinivasan should be restrained from taking over as president pending disposal of the main appeal.
However, Justice Lodha told counsel: “This is one of those cases where if interim relief is granted, it would amount to granting the final relief itself.”
Senior counsel Aryama Sundaram and senior counsel P.S. Raman, appearing for the BCCI, submitted that since Mr. Srinivasan had already been elected president he should be permitted to take over. Mr. Sundaram, however, made it clear that whatever was done would be subject to the final order to be passed in the appeal.
Senior counsel Gopal Subramaniam and counsel Harishankar, appearing for Mr. Srinivasan, also said he [Mr. Srinivasan] would abide by the final orders. Recording the undertaking, the Bench disposed of the interim application.
Mr. Muthiah, in his application, said the question of conflict of interest raised by him against Mr. Srinivasan still continued as he was also the member of the governing council of the IPL. Hence, he sought an injunction to restrain Mr. Srinivasan from functioning as secretary or assuming charge as president pending hearing of his appeal by a larger Bench.
