Crucial day for BCCI as SC set to hear IPL corruption case today

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will on Tuesday resume hearing on the findings of the Justice Mudgal Committee`s investigation into corruption in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament. A three-member inquiry committee, led by Justice Mukul Mudgal, had submitted its findings in a sealed enveloped to the apex court on February 10. It is believed that the 170-page-report, with annexures running into more than 4000 pages, includes statements of players and officials associated with IPL. The other two members of the Mudgal committee are additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao and Assam Cricket Association member Nilay Dutta. It was set up by the Supreme Court in October last year to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against Gurunath Meiyappan, BCCI president N Srinivasan’s son-in-law, and Raj Kundra, as well as betting and spot-fixing in IPL. The committee’s report concluded that Gurunath Meiyappan was the de facto owner of the Chennai Super Kings and that he had not only bet on the IPL but also passed information on the matches to others. Raj Kundra, one of the co-owners of the Rajasthan Royals, was also investigated but the committee did not find conclusive evidence that he bet on IPL matches. It did, however, recommend further investigation into the allegations of corruption agains Kundra. However, the BCCI itself appointed a two-member panel, comprising retired judges T Jayaram Chouta and R Balasubramanian, last July to investigate the alleged claims of widespread corruption in IPL. But the penal had declared that there was no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra, the two who were also probed by the Mudgal committee. The hearing will consider the findings of the both the Justice Mudgal Committee and the BCCI`s panel. Besides the IPL case, the apext court will also decide on the future of former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi in view of the BCCI`s objections relating to the declaration of the results of Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections. Modi, despite being banned from cricket administration by the BCCI, had contested the RCA elections after taking approval from the Supreme Court and won. With agency inputs