Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) chief N. Srinivasan's counsel on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the BCCI chief is ready to step aside to ensure a fair enquiry into the IPL spot fixing case.
In his appeal, the BCCI has assured the apex court that the board is ready to take action against those who were named in the report of the Justice Mudgal Commission.
The apex court in its reply has said it would give the BCCI's proposal a thought and would be passing an order for the greater benefit of the game of cricket.
A high-profile inquiry panel, headed by former High Court judge Justice Mukul Mudgal, had submitted its reports to the apex court on February 10. The panel also submitted a confidential envelope that reportedly contains the names of a few Indian cricketers and a few top officials.
The hearing in this case, which began on Tuesday, was ominous for the 69-year-old Srinivasan, as Justice A.K. Patnaik, one of the two judges, had lashed out at the BCCI chief with harsh words, saying: "Why is Srinivasan not stepping down? It is so nauseating? Why is he sticking to the president's post?"
More heat has been put on Srinivasan with three of the five BCCI vice presidents-Shivlal Yadav, Ravi Sawant and Chitrak Mitra-putting pressure on Srinivasan to honour the Supreme Court's observation. But the Tamil Nadu strongman has stuck to his guns.
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The IPL betting and fixing case began in June last year when the secretary of the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) Aditya Verma filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court. After a two-member BCCI probe commission, appointed by Srinivasan and Co, gave Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royal's Raj Kundra a clean chit, hell broke loose.
Verma promptly filed an affidavit in Bombay High Court pointing out Srinivasan's conflict of interest, since he owned Chennai Super Kings and Meiyappan was the husband of his daughter. The BCCI doesn't recognize Verma's CAB.
Srinivasan had stepped aside in June 2013 after his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan's name cropped up in the fixing scandal, which had to led to a ban on paceman S Sreesanth and his two other Rajasthan Royals colleagues. In his absence, former BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya discharged the duties of the President. However, at the BCCI AGM in September 2013, Srinivasan was re-elected as President.