The Supreme Court on Thursday formed a three-member committee to decide on the punishment against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) betting scandal involving co-owners of the two teams.
The apex court held Raj Kundra of Rajasthan Royals and Gurunath Meiyappan (CSK) guilty of placing bets and cast a doubt on the future of these teams in the IPL.
Former Chief Justice India R. M. Lodha will head the committee that includes former Supreme Court judges Ashok Bhan and R. V. Raveendran.
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The Supreme Court judgment, welcomed by former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi as “landmark” and “very good” for the game, has triggered a flurry of activities in the Board to plan their approach for the forthcoming elections, to be held within six weeks as directed by the Supreme Court (SC). The SC has also ruled that the suspended Board president N. Srinivasan cannot contest for the post.
The SC-appointed committee has been given six months to further investigate and come to a decision regarding the allegations against Kundra and Meiyappan. The two teams face the possibility of being scratched from the high profile domestic T20 tournament of the Board.
The Board will have to elect its new president in six weeks time and Srinivasan can contest provided he lets go his equity in CSK. It is East Zone's turn to have a president of its choice is obvious with Mr. Srinivasan enjoying overwhelming support. The BCCI rules allow a candidate from outside the zone to contest provided he wins a proposer and seconder from that zone.
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It is compulsory for the presidential candidate to have attended two Annual General Meetings of the Board apart from being a principal office bearer.
Correction
>>The front-page news, “Panel to decide penalty” (January 23, 2015) said that the Board will have to elect a president in six month’s time. It should have been six weeks .