HC agrees to hear plea for banning IPL

The Delhi High Court today agreed to hear tomorrow a PIL seeking banning of the Indian Premier League (IPL) till foolproof corrective measures are taken to stop alleged corrupt practices in it.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Murugesan said it will fix the matter for hearing tomorrow after Additional Solicitor General Rajeeve Mehra, appearing for Sports Ministry, apprised the court that a similar petition was listed for hearing before the apex court.
The PIL, filed by NGO Association for Social and Humanitarian Affairs, has also sought a direction that Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) be taken over by the Sports Ministry.

The NGO, which moved the court through its President Kuldeep Singh Bhogal, has also sought judicial supervision of the investigation into the IPL spot-fixing scandal case in which 18 people -- three IPL players, four former players, 11 bookies and their assistants -- have been arrested so far.
"The IPL's model seems to be designed specifically to suit the requirements of the mafia to quickly and efficiently churn huge sum of money using the routes of hawala," the petition, filed through advocate Rahul Raj Malik, alleged.
"The strategic time out of two to three minutes while the game is being played is misused, as being the only opportunity, for interactions between the players and the bookies to influence the result of the match and session and thereby cheat the nation...," it alleged, adding that the whole nation has been "cheated" by some unscrupulous players, bookies and others.

The petition also quoted various newspaper reports to say that the bookies are operating from Karachi and Dubai.