CSK's petition to stay IPL suspension rejected by Madras High Court

CSK fans during the #SaveCSK campaign

The Madras High Court has rejected Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) petition to put stay on their two-year suspension from Indian Premier League (IPL), reports NDTV. The two-judge bench comprising of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam refused to give any relief to Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd. (CSKCL) and adjourned the case to September 23.

The court while refusing the petition, also made it a point to state that any decision taken by BCCI in the meantime will be counted as the final court order.

The writ petition was filed by CSKCL, the owners of the CSK on August 17 asking the Madras High Court to put a stay on the Lodha Committee's decision on suspending CSK from the IPL for two years. The petitioner argued that according to the IPL Operational Rule 4.1.1, the Supreme Court never asked the Lodha Committee to examine the blameworthiness of the Chennai-based franchise.

The petition also said that the Lodha Committee  was constituted only to determine the quantum of punishment for CSK's official Gurunath Meiyappan who was held for betting during the IPL matches.

IPL Operational Rule 4.1.1

The rule states that each franchisee shall ensure that each of its team officials complies with the regulations, including without limitation, the BCCI Anti-Corruption Code for Participants (and the attention of franchises is drawn in particular to Article 2 of the BCCI Anti-Corruption Code for Participants for a list of offences under that Code).

For avoidance of doubt, all of those persons who are accredited as representing the franchise, whether accredited for the league by the BCCI either centrally or locally, shall be deemed to be a team official for the purpose of the regulation.

In a massive verdict on July 14, the Justice RM Lodha committee has suspended India Cement's franchise CSK and Jaipur franchise Rajasthan Royals for a period of two years from IPL. Gurunath Meiyappan, a former team official of the CSK franchise, and Raj Kundra, a former co-owner of RR, have been banned by the RM Lodha Panel from any involvement in cricket matches for life.