Supreme Court ignores BCCI's plea to reinstate Srinivasan

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday ignored the Indian cricket board's plea to reinstate N. Srinivasan as its president and gave two more months to the Mukul Mudgal Committee to submit the final report in the spot-fixing and betting scandal in the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) that involved 13 people, including some prominent cricketers.

Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, appealing for Srinivasan, told the court that his client has already stepped down as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president and could not remain in the same situation if the probe goes on and sought an inquiry so that he could be cleared of any act of wrongdoing.

An apex court bench, headed by Justice T.S.Thakur, asked Sibal how he knew that there was anything about Srinivasan in the interim report submitted by Justice (retd) Mudgal in a sealed cover Friday. The court said that Mudgal has merely sought an extension of time. 

In May, the apex court asked Justice Mudgal to inquire into the allegations that it had earlier submitted to it (court) in a sealed cover, naming 13 people - including some cricketers who had played in IPL 2013 - for the irregularities and had alleged inaction by Srinivasan.

The court then asked Justice Mudgal to undertake the probe despite resistance by the BCCI which held that if a new probe committee is entrusted to inquire into the allegations, "there is likelihood of the allegations being leaked to the public and such leakage will damage the reputation of the 13 people beyond repair".