BCCI should maintain sanctity about SC deliberations: Abdi

Mumbai:

Reacting to BCCI's statement that it had not reached an understanding with former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi, his lawyer Mehmood Abdi said that the Cricket Board should maintain sanctity of the Supreme Court deliberations.

"With regard to the statement of the BCCI about the Supreme Court deliberations, I say that sanctity of the same is to be upheld by everybody and this should not be a matter of media speculation," Abdi said.

A Supreme Court Bench, comprising Justices J M Panchal and Gyan Sudha Mishra, had asked the Board on Wednesday to explore the possibility of reconstituting the disciplinary committee.

The Bench put out the question when Modi's lawyer Jethmalani repeatedly argued that there was a reasonable apprehension that the suspended IPL chief will not get a fair deal before the present committee which was biased against him.

"So far as the statement of the BCCI is concerned which says that indeed Mr Ram Jethmalani and Mr Arun Jaitley met last night, I feel it is not appropriate for me to comment what transpired between the two legal luminaries," Abdi said.

Nevertheless, we still maintain that we want an inquiry but by an independent panel, he added.

After turning down Lalit Modi's plea of reconstituting the disciplinary panel, the BCCI refuted reports that it had reached an "understanding" with the suspended IPL Commissioner in the ongoing probe into charges of financial irregularities against him.

"Mr Arun Jaitley and Mr Ram Jethmalani met Wednesday night for some other matter not connected to BCCI. The statement made by Mr Mohd Abdi, General Counsel and Constituted Attorney of Mr L K Modi, regarding some understanding being reached is totally false and BCCI denies the same," BCCI's Chief Administrative Officer Prof R S Shetty said in a statement.