New Delhi, May 26: The Delhi High Court today rejected all-rounder Ajay Jadeja's plea for return to grade cricket in view of BCCI's petition challenging Justice J K Mehra award setting aside the 5-year ban imposed on him following the match-fixing controversy. Justice Manmohan Sarin, who had on May 16 issued notices to Jadeja, BCCI's investigator K Madhavan and members of the disciplinary committee, agreed with BCCI counsel Kapil Sibal's submission that the cricketer's plea can not be entertained unless the objections to the award were decided.
The court is scheduled to hear BCCI's objections to the award on July 8 after the respondents file their replies.
Earlier, a division bench of the court had on April 24 asked the BCCI to consider Jadeja for Ranji Trophy and posted the matter for hearing on May 19. However, when the matter came up for hearing, the bench sent the petition to Justice Sarin after BCCI counsel Radha Rangaswamy submitted that the award had already been challenged before a single bench.
The BCCI challenged the Justice Mehra award on April 25, just two days before it was to become binding. The January 27 award would have become final on April 27 at the expiry of 90-day statutory period, had it gone unchallenged.
Jadeja accused the BCCI of scuttling his selection in the Ranji Trophy by faxing a letter to the DDCA and advising the latter not to select him. He was also not allowed to take part in a charity match in South Africa as the ICC objected to his participation at the instance of the BCCI, his counsel P P Malhotra alleged. Arbitrator Justice J K Mehra, who was appointed by the high court, had given the ruling in Jadeja's favour on the five-year ban, making him eligible for playing international and domestic cricket again.
Justice Mehra had found former CBI director Madhavan's report to be "illegal and against the principles of natural justice and contrary to law" and had also set aside the findings of the disciplinary committee and ban imposed on Jadeja on December 5, 2000 in his ruling.
"Jadeja has a right to play domestic and international cricket at all levels as if the ban was not there, but of course subject to his selection by the concerned authorities," the arbitrator had said.
Jadeja had approached the high court on February 2, 2001 challenging the BCCI order imposed on the basis of K Madhavan committee recommendations following a preliminary report by CBI indicting both Jadeja and former captain Mohd Azharuddin.
Both Jadeja and Azharuddin have maintained throughout that they had absolutely no involvement in the match-fixing scandal. Bureau Report