Discharged IPL spot fixing accused seeks to deposit old currency seized in 2013

A discharged accused in the IPL spot-fixing scandal on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking to deposit Rs. 5.5 lakh in demonetised currency notes which were released by police on February 1 and were not being accepted by the Reserve Bank of India.

The bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice D.Y.Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul asked the counsel Manjit Singh Ahluwalia to produce the seizure memo issued by police recording the seized money and their denomination.

Ahluwalia who appeared for Abishek Shukla - who was projected as an aide of former cricket S. Sreesanth by police - told that the money seized by Delhi Police on September 25, 2013, was since lying in its 'malkhana' (treasurey) and was released to him on February 1 this year.

Delhi Police had claimed that it had recovered Rs. 5.5 lakh with Shukla's help with the amount was alleged to have been paid to the cricketer by bookies for spot-fixing in Indian Premier League matches.

Both Sreesanth and Shukla and others were discharged in the case by the trial court in 2015.

Shukla has sought the quashing of December 30, 2016 ordinance saying that it was contrary to October 8, 2016 notification demonetising Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes. He said it was incumbent on the police to exchange the old currency notes lying in its custody before the last date.

--IANS

pk/vd