NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred the BCCI president’s election till January 31, indicating that a verdict on allegations of conflict of interest and betting involving N Srinivasan and Gurunath Meiyappan might take time.
The BCCI’s Annual General Meeting was scheduled for December 17 and the Bench accepted a plea by Srinivasan’s counsel that it be postponed. The Bench said issues coming out of the Mudgal Committee’s report on the IPL scandal, including Srinivasan’s dual roles, need further deliberation and set the next hearing on December 15. Srinivasan’s counsel gave an undertaking that if allowed to contest and re-elected, he will stay away from IPL matters till action is taken against the guilty. The BCCI opposed the setting up of a high-powered committee to look into the matter, saying it would affect its autonomy. The court is yet to rule on these.
Siddharth Luthra represented Gurunath, who has been indicted by the Mudgal panel. Explaining his stand for the first time, he refused to disclose whether Gurunath was a CSK official as a case regarding this was going on. Accepting this, the court said, “We are not forcing you. However, the Mudgal Committee said you are. If you are not a team official your suspension is meaningless. You still want to enter the stadium but in what capacity?” Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra’s lawyers also raised objections against the committee’s probe.