Bombay High Court Dismisses Conflict of Interest Petition Against N. Srinivasan
The Cricket Association of Bihar had filed a PIL in Bombay High Court seeking appointment of an independent Governance Review Committee to review the rules and regulations of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and its president N. Srinivasan.
Board of Control for Cricket in India president-in-exile N. Srinivasan received a shot in the arm when the Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation challenging the Tamil Nadu strongman's Conflict of Interest in running the affairs of the cricket body. Srinivasan, who in June was appointed the first chairman of the International Cricket Council, is seeking another term as BCCI supremo.
In the wake of allegations of corruption in the Indian Premier League, the PIL questioned how could Srinivasan's company India Cements own a franchise -- Chennai Super Kings -- when he was already heading the BCCI. CSK and its former team principal Gurunath Meiyappan have been indicted by a Supreme Court-appointed probe panel for betting and sharing team information. Srinivasan's role is also under the scanner. (Supreme Court Yet to Read Mudgal Probe Report)
The Cricket Association of Bihar had in September filed a PIL in Bombay High Court seeking appointment of an independent Governance Review Committee to review the rules and regulations of the BCCI. The PIL alleged that in recent times BCCI has been used as a medium to serve the personal interest of few persons which includes Srinivasan, who has been stood down from his position till the Supreme Court adjudicated on the IPL corruption case. The next hearing is on November 14. (IPL Scam: Top 10 Developments)
The PIL, filed by Aditya Verma, secretary of Cricket Association of Bihar, contended that the rules and regulations of BCCI have also been allegedly tampered with in a manner to further advance their causes and also pointed to the spot-fixing scandal in the IPL.
The PIL challenged the BCCI's amendment of regulation 6.2.4, which says that except Indian Premier League (IPL) and Champions League Twenty20, no administrator, officer, player or umpire shall have any direct or indirect commercial interest in the matches or events conducted by the Board. It was only after this amendment that Srinivasan became eligible to own Chennai Super Kings. The petition pointed out that IPL and Champions League T20 tournaments were left out only to benefit Srinivasan.