SC asks Mudgal panel to further probe spot-fixing

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday asked the Mukul Mudgal committee, which had investigated the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing scam,  whether it would be willing to conduct a probe against N Srinivasan and 12 others. The court rejected a probe panel set up by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), of which Srinivasan was head till an SC order removed him last month.  

Mudgal said, “We have given our consent. I will wait for the order.”  

The BCCI’s panel had former cricketer Ravi Shastri, former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director R K Raghavan and former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice J N Patel. The Mudgal panel had named Srinivasan and 12 others in its report. After concerns were raised about the conflict of interest between the probe panel members and BCCI, the court sought Mudgal’s consent to continue with the probe.

Aditya Verma, the petitioner, had objected to the BCCI panel and sought a CBI probe. Patel is the brother-in-law of the interim BCCI President Shivlal Yadav and Ravi Shastri is working on a contractual basis with the BCCI.  

Justice A K Patnaik had said during the hearing last week, “It seems Srinivasan has not taken the allegations seriously.”

“We are not considering a special investigation team because we don’t want the CBI or the police or the media to throw mud on cricketers.”

The court set the next date of hearing on April 29 after it adjourned Tuesday’s. The Mudgal panel will be aided by investigating agencies.