IPL Verdict By Supreme Court: Finally N Srinivasan Given Out Caught!

Nine months after forcing BCCI President N Srinivasan to resign the Supreme Court of India has virtually demolished the big-money-powered cricket clout of India in a landmark judgment delivered today on the IPL Spot Fixing Scandal and Conflict of Interest case. The court said that Srinivasan created the conflict of interest himself by bringing in an amendment to the constitution as BCCI Chief. The court struck down this controversial 6.2.4 clause that allows BCCI officials to own IPL teams and have commercial interests. Scrapping of this rule means that Srinivasan cannot contest the BCCI elections which the court ordered to be held within next six weeks. Supreme Court gives Srini one option though—you can fight election if you give up your IPL team Chennai Super Kings. This is not one of the easiest options to make use of because of obvious ‘cricket’ lobbies, players, business and revenues. Furthermore, the court constituted a three-member panel of judges to decide the fate of Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals along with implicated team or franchise officials as per the Mudgal Committee report and recommend changes in the BCCI constitution. The IPL, Season 8, supposed to come up in April this year is now under a cloud and there is no clarity for the IPL auctions that are to start shortly. The panel will give its report in six months.

The historic judgment effectively finishes off the cricket monopoly enjoyed by the BCCI for so long. The court holds that the Indian cricket Board functions are public functions and like all public functions by any organization BCCI is also open for judicial review. The BCCI can longer be the executor and the judge too. It can no longer punish or benefit anybody within the Board. BCCI did not adhere to prescribed procedure too while conducting probe in IPL spot fixing scandal. One must also give full credit to Cricket Association of Bihar for bringing the Conflict of Interest syndrome first time into litigation and the Mudgal Committee for its commitment to clean up Indian Cricket.

All escape routes for the most powerful cricket administrator cum beneficiary of Indian cricket seem to be closed now. He is finally right royally adjudged out ‘caught’ by ‘conflict of interest’ by none other than the apex court of the country. What the International Cricket Council (ICC) does to N Srinivasan next would be his immediate concern. As expected, many cricket ‘experts’ and ‘lovers’ are already crying hoarse for the sake of the IPL in the spirit of the game, India’s prestige and interests of innocent cricketers. But, the IPL must severe its dirty underbelly and stick only to cricket if it wants to continue as a tournament. And, hope is all there. Hail the Supreme Court for this. Hail the Operation Clean-Up Indian Cricket. Jai Ho!