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IPL Spot-Fixing Scandal: Supreme Court Set to Name Fresh Panel
The Supreme Court will name a fresh committee that will investigate the 2013 Indian Premier League spot-fixing and betting scandal on Friday. Although it is summer vacation, the two-judge bench will pass an order to focus on specific names which were mentioned in a sealed envelope submitted by an inquiry committee on February 10.
The first round of investigation was conducted by a three-man committee headed by retired Justice Mukul Mudgal. The court could bestow the second round of investigation to Justice Mudgal once again.
On April 29, the Supreme Court reserved its order about the panel to investigate the allegations against 13 "very important personalities" whose names figure in a sealed envelope submitted on February 10 by an inquiry committee that was headed by former High Court judge Justice Mukul Mudgal.
One of the names is that of BCCI president N. Srinivasan, who has been stripped off his powers as Board head by the top court. Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan is in the eye of the scam after being indicted by the Mudgal committee. Several top players, including Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, are alleged to have had links with bookies. The focus of the next round of investigation will be on the 13 names.
Although Justice Mudgal has agreed to carry on the probe after being invited by the Supreme Court, the BCCI has opposed his involvement saying the panel's report submitted in February had errors. During his four-month investigation, Mudgal was assisted by senior advocate Nilay Dutta and Additional Solicitor General L. Nageswara Rao.
On April 29, Justice Mudgal submitted a wish-list of persons he wanted to conduct a second round of investigation into the IPL scam. Mudgal has wanted "a former cricketer of repute and integrity" to be part of his team. Mudgal has also proposed the name of M.L. Sharma, the former special director CBI, on his panel.
Justice Mudgal has also wanted four months to complete investigations. If the court does give Justice Mudgal the charge to lead another probe, a report can only be expected around September. Srinivasan's third year as BCCI expires September end.
However, the court has not stopped Srinivasan from representing the Indian Board at ICC. Srinivasan is set to take over as ICC's first chairman in July. As of now, no BCCI or ICC member has objected to Srinivasan's appointment.
