New Delhi, July 08: Accusing the arbitrator of bias, the Cricket Board today asked the Delhi High Court to reverse the Justice J K Mehra award setting aside the 5-year ban imposed on cricketer Ajay Jadeja on charges of involvement in match-fixing.
Initiating arguments on the Board's petition challenging the award, BCCI counsel C S Vaidyanathan termed the award a "perverse finding" of a biased arbitrator, who ignored many an objection raised by the country's apex cricket body. Vaidyanathan specifically mentioned how the arbitrator disallowed cross-examination of Jadeja on his telephone calls, printouts of which were already on record.
He also alleged that the request for recall of Jadeja for further cross-examination was simply rejected without any reason in violation of principles of natural justice.
On Justice Mehra terming former CBI director K Madhavan's report as contrary to principles of natural justice, the BCCI counsel said Jadeja was given full hearing by the discplinary action committee before the ban was imposed on him on December 5, 2000 and clarified that Madhavan's role was only to investigate and not to take any action.

Jutice J K Mehra, who was appointed as an arbitrator by the High Court, had given the ruling in Jadeja's favour on the ban as he found Madhavan's report to be "illegal and against the principles of natural justice". He also set aside the findings of the Disciplinary Committee.

The BCCI challenged the award on April 25 last, just two days before it was to become binding. The January 27 award would have become final on April 27 at the expiry of the 90-day statutory period, had it gone unchallenged.

Bureau Report.