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Srini knew of IPL mess, but didn’t act: SC panel
Mudgal probe report nails Meiyappan, Kundra
R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent

N Srinivasan Gurunath Meiyappan Raj Kundra

New Delhi, November 17
A Supreme Court-appointed probe panel has brought to light the murky side of the Indian Premier League (IPL) involving betting and match fixing. According to the report, N Srinivasan and other top managers of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) were very much aware of the “misconduct” by some of the IPL players and officials in 2013 but took no action.

Srinivasan and 4 other BCCI officials knew of the “violation of the players’ code of conduct” by one player (identified only as Individual 3), while IPL Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sunder Raman had information about the illegal betting activities of Gurunath Meiyappan (son-in-law of Srinivasan), who was Team Principal of MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and Rajasthan Royals’ co-owner Raj Kundra.

“But no action was taken against Individual 3 by any of the aforesaid officials who were aware of this infraction,” the probe report said. The probe had been conducted by a 3-member panel headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal.

The IPL COO had told the probe panel that he had taken up with the chief of ICC’s Anti-Corruption Security Unit (ICC-ACSU) the problem of betting by Meiyappan and Kundra, but the ICC official rejected it stating that “this was not actionable information.” Incidentally, betting is legal in many cricket playing nations. ICC is now headed by Srinivasan, who had stepped aside as BCCI President earlier this year at the instance of the SC.

The panel said Srinivasan “is not involved with match fixing activity” and “was not found to be involved in scuttling the investigations into match fixing.” Also, “no material is available on record to show that Meiyappan is involved in match-fixing.”

The panel’s findings became public today as the SC handed over excerpts of the report to Srinivasan, Raman, Meiyappan and Kundra seeking their response within four days. The apex court had appointed the panel while hearing appeals of the BCCI and Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB). BCCI has challenged Bombay High Court’s order quashing the Board’s probe panel, while CAB has come to SC, questioning the HC’s refusal to order a fresh probe.

The SC has clarified that it did not want to disclose at this stage the names of players in the panel’s report. The case is slated for next hearing on November 24. In its “final conclusions,” the panel has mentioned the officials and players only as “Individuals 1, 2, 3....” and in the copy given to the Srinivasan and three others only their names have been de-coded.

Excerpts from the report

INDIVIDUAL 13 (N SRINIVASAN): This individual is not involved with match fixing activity. This individual was not found to be involved in scuttling the investigations into match fixing. This individual along with four other BCCI officials was aware of the violation of the Players Code of Conduct by individual 3, but no action was taken against individual 3 by any of the aforesaid officials who were aware of this infraction.

INDIVIDUAL 12 (SUNDER RAMAN) This individual knew a contact of a bookie and had contacted him eight times in one season. This individual admitted knowing the contact of the bookies but however claimed to be unaware of his connection with betting activities. This individual also accepted that he had received information about individual 1 and individual 11 taking part in betting activities but was informed by the ICC-ACSU chief that this was not actionable information. This individual also accepted that this information was not conveyed to any other individual.

INDIVIDUAL 1 (GURUNATH MEIYAPPAN): Investigations have confirmed that this individual was a team official of a franchisee. He was frequently meeting individual 2 in his hotel room. This strengthens the conclusion of the Committee in its report dated 10.2.2014 that individual 1 was in close touch with individual 2.

The forensic report of the voice sample analysis further confirms the voice of this individual in the conversation with the person acting as a go-between, between this individual and bookies.

The murky side of IPL

• Srinivasan and 4 other BCCI officials knew of the ‘violation of the players’ code of conduct’ by one player (identified only as Individual 3), says SC panel report
• IPL Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sunder Raman had information about the illegal betting activities of Gurunath Meiyappan (son-in-law of Srinivasan), who was Team Principal of MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and Rajasthan Royals’ co-owner Raj Kundra.
• But no action was taken against Individual 3 by any of the aforesaid officials who were aware of this infraction,” the probe report said
• The probe had been conducted by a three-member panel headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal