The final report of the Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee, investigating the IPL betting scandal, is likely to cite the finding by the Mumbai Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) that the voices on the tapes are indeed that of Gurunath Meiyappan, the Team Principal of CSK and the son-in-law of BCCI president, N. Srinivasan, in conversation with actor Vindoo Dara Singh.
The Supreme Court, in May, appointed Justice Mukul Mudgal to probe allegations of betting and spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Mumbai Police which is probing a spot-fixing case involving Mr. Meiyappan and Mr. Singh had recorded their conversations between April and May 2013 and sent the tapes to the FSL for authentication.
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In September 2013, the police filed its charge sheet before the Mumbai sessions court, including the transcripts of conversations.
Simultaneously, the police sought the opinion of the FSL on the veracity of the tapes.
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In May this year, the FSL shared its finding with the Mumbai police, stating that the voice samples collected by the agency matched with those of the accused.
This could spell trouble for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), of which Mr. Meiyappan is the team principal.
Under the IPL constitution, a franchise stands terminated if its owner is found to have indulged in betting on IPL matches.
Finding Mr. Meiyappan guilty of betting, the three-member IPL committee in its 170-page report had stated, “The material on record clearly indicates that Mr. Gurunath was the face of Chennai Super Kings.” However, “the allegations of match-fixing require further investigation.”