Thakur says sorry to SC

The court to hear the contempt case on April 17

March 06, 2017 11:15 pm | Updated 11:15 pm IST - NEW DELHI

Anurag Thakur.

Anurag Thakur.

Former BCCI president Anurag Thakur rendered an “unconditional and unqualified” apology to the Supreme Court on Monday in a contempt of court case.

Mr. Thakur was present in the courtroom as a Bench of Justices Dipak Misra, A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud spared him from making personal appearances in the future.

The court however said it will continue to hear the contempt case on April 17.

P.S. Patwalia, who is an Additional Solicitor General, submitted that the unconditional apology features in the very first line of the application filed by Mr. Thakur before the court.

“I never intended anything... There is nothing in it... an impression somehow has got created,” Mr. Patwalia sought to explain to the court.

He sought an earlier date for the next hearing, sometime in March, saying Mr. Thakur was “pursuing public life.” But the court refused, though it initially advanced the date from April 24 to April 17.

On January 2, the Supreme Court had noted that its diktats are not “written in sand” and meant to be complied with while stripping Mr. Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke of their posts with Indian cricket’s most powerful body.

The court had declared Mr. Thakur and Mr. Shirke “unfit” to continue at the helm of the BCCI for their “obstructionist” attitude and specious pleas in court about their incapacity to make affiliated State associations fall in line with the Justice Lodha Committee reforms.

Besides, the court found Mr. Thakur prima facie guilty of both contempt of Supreme Court proceedings and perjury (fabrication of false evidence), adding that such a person does not deserve to continue as BCCI president.

The court held that Mr. Thakur’s attempts to “solicit” ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar in Dubai for a letter to undermine the Supreme Court judgement of July 18, 2016 which upheld the Lodha Committee recommendation to include a CAG nominee on the Board’s apex council prima facie amounted to sheer contempt.

The apex court further said Mr. Thakur was prima facie guilty of placing on record a “fabricated” minutes of a BCCI Working Committee meeting held on August 22, 2016 in order to lend support for his version that he had only sought a clarification from Mr. Manohar and not a letter.

The court had issued notice to Mr. Thakur for his response on why he should not face both contempt proceedings and a criminal prosecution for perjury.

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