Apex court asks Justice Mukul Mudgal if he would probe IPL spot-fixing scandal

New Delhi, April 22 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Tuesday did not favour the probe panel proposed by the Indian cricket board and asked Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee if it would investigate the IPL betting and spot fixing scandal last year.

The apex court bench headed by Justice A.K.Patnaik asked Justice Mudgal to confirm by April 29 whether he would take up the task.

The court said that if Mudgal decides to undertake the probe, it will designate an investigation agency that would assist him. The court said this as it resumed hearing in the post-lunch session on Tuesday.

Justice Mudgal earlier submitted a report, as asked by the Supreme Copurt, that had indicted Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of BCCI president N. Srinivasan, for involvement in betting during the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League.

The court’s decision to ask Mudgal to head the panel shows that it is not inclined to accept the three-member panel proposed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a free and fair probe. The panel was to have Ravi Shastri, former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) head R.K. Raghavan and former chief justice of the Calcutta High Court J.N. Patel as members.

Earlier in the day, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi opposed the entire panel suggested by the BCCI and contended that each one of them is placed in a situation of conflict of interest.

The apex court then asked senior counsel Gopal Subramaniam to check with Justice Mudgal if he was inclined to undertake the probe. The court said if Justice Mudgal Committee agrees, it would be provided the assistance of able investigators.