SC stalls N Srinivasan's return as chief, says something seriously wrong with BCCI

The Supreme Court on Monday delayed N Srinivasan39s return as the Board of Control for Cricket in India BCCI chief saying there was quotsomething seriously wrongquot with the body that controls the sport in the cricketcrazy nation The 68yearold cement tycoon widely regarded as the most powerful man in world cricket had been elected unopposed as the head of the BCCI for a third year on Sunday Though reelected BCCI president on Sunday N Srinivasan will remain unable to function as the board chief File Pic But the court barred Srinivasan from taking charge until it had ruled on a petition against him over a spotfixing scandal in the Indian Premier League IPL a popular Twenty20 tournament run by the board The apex court bench headed by Justice AK Patnaik asked the BCCI to furnish its proposal under which Srinivasan will be allowed to discharge his duties mandated by the BCCI constitution while completely keeping off the probe into allegations against his soninlaw Gurunath Meiyappan of involvement in spot fixing and betting in the lucrative Indian Premier League IPL The court said this after the BCCI pleaded that Srinivasan be allowed to discharge certain responsibilities as the board chief quotThe fact that so many things are coming out of the IPL and BCCI something is seriously wrong with the apex body controlling cricketquot the court said during Monday39s hearing quotWhy has the BCCI lost its credibility The only thing to be seen is how Srinivasan being the president will affect the IPL probequot The court also fixed October 7 as the next date of the hearing Senior counsel Harish Salve appearing for Cricket Association of Bihar said they could respond to the suggestion by the BCCI only after receiving the concrete proposal in writing The apex court was hearing a petition filed last week by Cricket Association of Bihar CAB secretary Aditya Verma pleading that Srinivasan be barred from contesting the BCCI presidential election He also wanted the SC to issue an interim ban preventing Srinivasan from being a member of any committee of the Indian cricket board The petition was filed on the ground that Srinivasan39s soninlaw Gurunath Meiyappan is being probed for placing bets in the Indian Premier League IPL matches The apex court allowed Srinivasan to contest the election but said that he cannot discharge his duties In the course of the hearing the court observed that quotso many things are coming about IPL and something seems wrong with the apex cricketing body why it has lost its credibilityquot Justice Patnaik asked BCCI counsel CA Sundaram A cricket body in the eastern state of Bihar which is not affiliated to the BCCI had asked the court to prevent Srinivasan39s return on moral grounds because his soninlaw had been charged in the scandal Srinivasan temporarily stepped aside as president in June when Meiyaappan was named in the scandal and handed interim control to Jagmohan Dalmiya a former head of the International Cricket Council Srinivasan has publicly distanced himself from his soninlaw who was the team principal of the Chennai Super Kings the IPL franchise owned by India Cements and captained by national skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni The Bihar association had argued in court that an internal BCCI probe panel had absolved Srinivasan Meiyappan India Cements and other IPL officials of wrongdoing even before police had filed charges in court The BCCI has not said who will head it until the Supreme Court delivers its verdict or whether fresh elections will be held if Srinivasan is subsequently barred from holding office