New Delhi: Even as the much-awaited hearing on betting and spot-fixing scandal in IPL was on Friday adjourned with the Supreme Court posting the case for March 25, the Indian Cricket Board pleaded before the SC not to make public the cricketers named in the report placed in a sealed envelope by its probe committee which raised suspicion on their role in the IPL betting and spot-fixing scam.
A bench headed by Justice AK Patnaik said the case will be heard on non-miscellaneous day as the hearing would take time. It also agreed to consider contents of a sting operation which a news channel wanted to place before it on the scam.
Apart from confirming Gurunath Meiyappan’s role in CSK as the team official and his involvement in betting during the IPL matches stands proved, the three-member committee, headed by former Punjab and Haryana Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal, had named in its report six prominent “Indian capped” players, including one who is part of the current team whose names cropped up during its investigation.
The Board, in its response to the report, said “speculative and baseless” charges against leading cricketers have been made by “unscrupulous” news channels and the apex court must pass an order to prevent any further damage to the image and reputation of “innocent” cricketers in question. “It is further submitted that the probe committee has given certain confidential material in a sealed cover to this court. Since that material has not been verified to be true, it is most humbly submitted that the material contained in the sealed cover remain with the court and not to be released to the parties,” the Board said in its response.
The apex court committee, also comprising Additional Solicitor General N. Nagehswar Rao and Assam Cricket Association member Nilay Dutta, had given names of the players, whose roles are being probed, in a sealed cover. The report said a journalist, who was apparently connected with recording of tapes for a sports magazine, could identify the voice of the Indian player and he had also stated that the player was part of the team which played the World Cup and is a member of the team now.
“The journalist refused to disclose the names of the Indian players involved. In spite of repeated requests to put the name of the said player in a sealed cover for perusal before the Supreme Court, the journalist appeared terrified and was very reluctant to do so and pleaded that it would be dangerous for the journalist concerned,” it had said.
“It thus appears that names of six prominent Indian capped players are available in tapes in connection with dealings with bookies,” the report had said.
