SC holds Meiyappan, Kundra guilty, spares Srinivasan with rider

Though the court  said "there is nothing to prove" against Srinivasan, it observed  "There is high probability that he was involved in corruption," and disallowed him from contesting elections to the cricket board by striking down an amendment that allowed BCCI officials to own stakes in IPL franchises.

This means that Srinivasan can no longer be an owner of the Chennai Super Kings franchise and the BCCI President at the same time.

In a 130-page verdict on Thursday, the apex court said Srinivasan as the BCCI chief and owner of an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise had created a conflict of interest.

The court verdict was  based on the  probe report  of the  Justice Mukul Mudgal committee, wherein it stated that Meiyappan was indeed an official of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and did place bets on matches.

It found Srinivasan's son-in-law C K Meyiappan, a top functionary of Chennai Super Kings and  Raj Kundra, co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals,guilty of betting.

The SC appointed a three-member committee led by former Chief Justice RS Lodha to decide on the quantum of punishment for Meiyappan and Kundra and decide on the fate of their respective franchises--Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

"We will not be dealing with the fate of franchises and will refer the subject to a three-member committee," SC said.

Srinivasan was accused of taking no action against Meiyappan earlier. The court held that Meiyappan was indeed an official of Chennai Super Kings, a team owned by India Cements, of wich Srinivasan is managing director.

"Decision to award compensation to India Cements casts a shadow of bias on Srinivasan. The argument that Srinivasan owns a minuscule share of India Cements is misleading because his family owns much more," the court said, signifying that the amendments made to rule Rule 6.2.4 of the BCCI Constitution had been struck down.

With the amendment being nullified,  Srinivasan will not be allowed to contest the BCCI presidential elections. The apex court has ordered that the BCCI presidential elections should be held within the next six weeks.

However, if Srinivasan disowns the franchise, then he will be eligible to contest the elections.

But SC clarified that the conflict of interest issue does not apply to former players employed by IPL franchises as mentors or coaches. "Professional engagement is different from commercial interest," it said.

Earlier, the Mudgal Committee, which submitted its report on IPL scam on Nov 17, had indicted Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals franchise co-owner Raj Kundra of betting and confirmed their role in their teams but cleared Srinivasan of match fixing and scuttling the probe.