Can kin’s indictment bar Srinivasan, asks SC

“Will it prevent him from contesting BCCI elections?”

The Supreme Court on Monday sought to know whether an indictment of a “close relative” of the former BCCI president, N. Srinivasan, by the Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee, probing the betting and spot-fixing scandals in the Indian Premier League, will bar him from contesting the Board’s elections.

A Bench of Justices T.S. Thakur and Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla asked whether personal innocence would suffice to make Mr. Srinivasan eligible for the BCCI polls if a “person close to him, a relative” was found guilty.

The panel’s final report, submitted to the Supreme Court in a sealed cover, contains the final findings of a detailed probe into allegations against Mr. Srinivasan, his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra of the Rajasthan Royals.

In May 2014, the court ordered further investigations after the panel found that “the role of Mr. Meiyappan in Chennai Super Kings as the team owner as well as the allegations of betting and passing on information against him stands proved, but the allegations of spot-fixing requires further investigation.”

Monday’s hearing began with Justice Thakur informing that the Bench was yet to read the report. This saw senior advocate Aryama Sundaram stress on urgency in the case.

However, the Bench chose to use this opportunity to throw open a new field of inquiry.

“Let us say there is no finding in the Mudgal Committee report against Mr. Srinivasan, but someone close to him, a relative, is indicted... won’t it be then improper for him to contest the elections?” Justice Thakur asked.

Countering this line of questioning, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said if a person was found guilty, that person alone would suffer the legal consequences of his guilt, not another found innocent.

“ ‘Should report be made public?’

Meanwhile, the court asked if the report should be made public. Mr. Salve suggested that the document could be made public after deleting certain parts.

He said making it public would also quell media speculation about the content, which is quite natural as cricket is considered a national sport in the country.