Summoning of BCCI president N. Srinivasan will depend on the scope of the probe, said Justice T. Jayarama Chouta, who is on the three-member commission appointed by the Board.
Talking to The Hindu from Mangalore, the 75-year-old retired judge of the Karnataka and Madras High Courts said the BCCI had contacted him on his willingness to be part of the panel but he was yet to receive any written communication on his appointment as well as the terms of reference and scope of the inquiry into the role of Chennai Super Kings principal Gurunath Meiyappan, who is the son-in-law of Mr. Srinivasan, in the betting scandal that rocked IPL-6.
To a query on the need for Mr. Srinivasan resigning his post during the probe, Justice Chouta said the commission would discharge its duty as per the terms of reference, and it was not for the panel to ask him to quit.
‘No pressure’
To another question, Justice Chouta said nobody had contacted him to exert any kind of pressure. He gave his consent to be part of the panel after ascertaining the other two names on the panel. He said he had worked with Justice R. Balasubramanian, also a retired judge of the Madras High Court.
‘Impartial probe’
In Chennai, Justice Balasubramanian emphasised that he would be impartial in the probe and said he had no prior association with Mr. Srinivasan.
He told The Hindu that he was very clear in his mind that he had no connection whatsoever either with Mr. Srinivasan or India Cements either as a lawyer or judge. “In my career as a judge, I have not dealt with their cases and I have no association with them.”
Justice Balasubramanian, who practises in the Supreme Court after retirement, said he expected to receive the terms of reference on Thursday.
Justice Balasubramanian, who served as a High Court judge between 1996 and 2007, declined to answer questions on the scope of the inquiry.
Eyewash, says Chandru
The appointment of the probe panel, however, attracted some criticism too. Having this commission is just “eyewash,” said K. Chandru, who recently retired as judge of the Madras High Court. When contacted, he wondered how the panel would serve any purpose. “It has no legal power, it is just an in-house inquiry.”
Justice Chandru noted that Mr. Srinivasan had not stepped down and that the commission was formed to go into allegations against his son-in-law.
