Under Madras High Court's direction, cops to file criminal case against TNCA

Aerial view of the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai during India’s 2011 World Cup match against New Zealand

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) is going to face criminal charges by the Chennai police after receiving orders from the Madras High Court for allegedly suppressing facts related to MA Chidambaram stadium’s structure in order to obtain a stability certificate to conduct IPL matches.

According to New Indian Express, Justice KBK Vasuki of the Madras High Court passed the order on Tuesday after a criminal original petition was filed by J Mohanraj, general secretary of the Jebamani Janata Party of East Abhiramapuram.

According to the petitioner, the TNCA of which N. Srinivasan is the president, had first sought permission from the Chennai Collector to demolish and rebuild the stadium as it had become old and weak.

Dated April 2, 2009, TNCA’s letter to the Collector stated, “the stadium had outlived its purpose, the structure had become weak, cracks had developed in the column and beams and chunks of concrete were falling down. Structural engineers had advised that demolition was the only way out. We have been incurring heavy expenditure every year for repair and maintenance.”

However, once the IPL season began, the TNCA used the same premises to conduct matches after concealing facts to the State government and endangering the lives of thousands of spectators in the process.

The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium located at Chepauk was built in 1916 and can accommodate 38,000 spectators at the moment. The stadium has hosted most of India’s international matches, including seven World Cup games, as well as all of Chennai Super Kings‘ home games since the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008.