The Madras High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea challenging the two-year suspension of Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket outfit, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam dismissed the petition filed by the team's new owner- CSK Cricket Limited- on the ground that it was not maintainable within the limitations prescribed by the Supreme Court.
The bench also dismissed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on the same grounds. Swamy, however, asserted after the hearing that he now intends to approach the Supreme Court against the verdict.
Offender behind the betting has walked scot free
The CSK owners in their petition alleged that the actual offender behind the betting and spot fixing scandal in the sixth season of the IPL in 2013 has walked scot free and only the cricketers contracted with the franchise have been affected by the ban.
CSK manager K. George John sought the court to quash the Lodha Committee report and asked the court to direct the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to allow the franchise to participate in the IPL.
The IPL scandal had led to the resignation of N. Srinivasan as BCCI president. Srinivasan's company India Cements was the owner of CSK while his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was among the main suspects.
Swamy, who pointed out that said no CSK player had been named as a suspect in the case, alleged that the PIL proceedings against Srinivasan were funded by former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi.
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