Court orders BCCI chief to step down

N Srinivasan should step down to ensure fair investigation into the IPL match-fixing allegations, says Supreme Court.

BCCI chief N Srinivasan (centre) has a lot of thinking to do over the next two days [GALLO/GETTY]

The Supreme Court of India called on Indian cricket board chief Narainswamy Srinivasan to step down from his post to ensure a fair investigation into charges of match-fixing in the Indian Premier League.

Srinivasan’s son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, was indicted last month on charges of betting and passing on information to illegal bookmakers by a committee investigating match-fixing in the IPL.

Supreme Court Justice AK Patnaik said if Srinivasan does not step down voluntarily from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the court will order his removal.

“Why is Srinivasan sticking to his chair? If you don’t step down, then we will pass an order,” Patnaik said.

As well as heading the BCCI, Srinivasan is chairman-designate of cricket world governing body the International Cricket Council. The IPL fixing controversy erupted last year after several cricketers, including Test paceman Shantakumaran Sreesanth, were arrested by Indian police for allegedly giving away a minimum number of runs in exchange for money from bookies.

Srinivasan’s position on the BCCI has been considered untenable since a three-member committee headed by Justice Mukul Mudgal found Chennai Super Kings team principal Meiyappan guilty of being in touch with illegal bookmakers in its report forwarded to the Supreme Court.

Source: AP