IPL scam: SC asks Srinivasan to prove there was no conflict of interest

Counsel Kapil Sibal has tough time proving in court the BCCI chief had no role in the scam

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the counsel of N Srinivasan to prove there was no conflict of interest among his roles in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). “Show us there was no conflict of interest, from the facts before the Mukul Mudgal committee report,” the judges said.

As the court hearing in the IPL spot-fixing case resumed on Monday, Srinivasan’s counsel Kapil Sibal had a tough time proving he had no role in the scam. He submitted before a Bench presided over by judge T S Thakur that Srinivasan acted immediately when the media reported his son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, was involved in spot fixing.

Meiyappan was arrested in May last year and BCCI lodged a complaint against him and India Cements, which owns CSK, within two days. Since then, committees had been set up to inquire into the allegations but Srinivasan scrupulously kept away from the selection of members and proceedings, Sibal said. Srinivasan also resigned from the governing council of BCCI and stayed away from its day-to-day administration, the counsel added.

When Sibal argued neither the Bombay High Court, where a public interest suit was filed, nor the Mudgal committee report referred to any conflict of interest, the judges observed he must nonetheless prove there was no conflict of interest, which was the core issue.

When Nalini Chidambaram, senior counsel for the Cricket Association of Bihar, alleged that Srinivasan was wearing several hats — as BCCI chief and India Cements promoter — Sibal said it was not unusual; even players and umpires had donned several roles in the past. Vijay Mallya was administrator of the Karnataka Cricket Association, as well as the owner of Kingfisher, which played a role in IPL. Players like Sunil Gavaskar, Sourav Ganguly and Ravi Shastri also acted as administrators and commentators, and got remuneration too.

Sibal will have to complete his arguments when the hearing in the case resumes next Monday afternoon.