Supreme Court to deliberate today validity of BCCI's IPL probe panel
The BCCI believes that the probe panel set up by it was according to its constitution and wants a stay on the Bombay High Court which said the panel was 'illegal.'
The Supreme Court will hear Board of Control for Cricket in India's petition challenging Bombay High Court's order, today. The High Court on July 30th had deemed BCCI's internal probe panel into spot-fixing allegations as 'illegal and unconstitutional.'
The BCCI filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court on Monday, saying that the appointment of the panel was legal and in accordance with the constitution of the Board.
On June 28, a two-member probe panel comprising retired High Court judges said no evidence of spot-fixing was found against Rajasthan Royals' co-owner Raj Kundra and Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of N Srinivasan.
In its SLP, BCCI has said the panel was properly formed and the High Court has erred by entertaining a PIL against it. 'A PIL cannot be entertained against the BCCI,' the Board said citing Supreme Court's earlier judgement which said BCCI was a private body. The BCCI also questioned the locus standi of the Cricket Association of Bihar and its secretary Aditya Verma, who challenged the two-member commission set up by the Board and the IPL Governing Council.
The Board also said the Bombay High Court order was contradictory as on one hand it deemed the setting up of the panel as illegal but on the other, admitted that the Board has the prerogative to appoint such probe panels.
On August 2, the IPL Governing Council decided to appeal to the Supreme Court, which meant that Srinivasan will remain president-in-exile till the Bombay High Court order was vacated.