IPL fixing: Court doubts police match fixing theory

A Delhi court, hearing IPL spot-fixing case, on Monday said there was no reference to match-fixing during 2013 Indian Premier League in the telephonic conversation of the accused.

Referring to the telephonic conversations among the accused, the prosecution said that call detail records (CDRs) clearly reflect the linkage of the accused people who were part of a crime syndicate to generate money and were involved in match-fixing.

Additional Sessions Judge Neena Bansal Krishna said: "The (telephonic) conversations (among arrested accused), which you (police) are citing, do not at all show that there was any ingredient of match-fixing. It only pertains to betting. There is no reference to match-fixing."

The judge also quizzed prosecution regarding illegality of betting and asked: "Is betting per se an offence?"

The prosecution replied that betting per se is not an offence but an illegal activity.

The court, which is at present hearing arguments, has now fixed the further proceedings on May 8.

Delhi Police July 30, 2013, filed a charge sheet in the IPL spot-fixing case, alleging that Dawood Ibrahim and his aide Chhota Shakeel were behind the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing scandal.

The formal set of charges, running into 6,000 pages, named cricketers S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, among other accused in the scandal related to the IPL-6 held in 2013.

They have been charged with cheating and conspiracy under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Dawood and Shakeel are on the run and have been declared proclaimed offenders in the case after police completed the proceedings of their property attachment.