CHENNAI: The Madras High Court Tuesday send notices to the Centre and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on a PIL filed by an IPS officer G Sampathkumar, seeking to restrain the cricket body from conducting Indian Premier League (IPL) this season without putting in place precautionary measures to prevent betting and spot-fixing.
According to the petition, no IPL matches should be played until proper measures are put in place.
The eleventh season of IPL is scheduled to begin on April 7 pitting defending champions Mumbai Indians against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which is making a comeback after serving out a two-year suspension.
Also returning after a gap of two years is IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR).
In the petition, in which all the eight IPL teams have been made as party respondents, the officer claimed that as an investigating officer from Chennai, he was instrumental in exposing the IPL 2013 spot-fixing and betting scandal.
“Contrary to the Lodha Committee’s report, vested interests still continue to be protected in the IPL and questions of conflict of interest remain unaddressed by the BCCI,” Sampathkumar was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
The IPS officer said he was not seeking a ban on the IPL, but a credible system in place before commencement of the present season 11. He wanted the court to pass an interim order restraining the BCCI from conducting the game without bringing in such measures.
According to media reports, Sampathkumar had written a signed statement saying a bookie named Kitty claimed MS Dhoni and former Chennai Super Kings team principal Gurunath Meiyappan had taken part in a deal pertaining to illegal activity in the IPL.
Dhoni’s name reportedly figures in a sealed envelope submitted to the Supreme Court by the Mudgal Committee.
According to FirstPost, Sampathkumar was later suspended over allegedly taking bribes from bookies accused in the IPL betting scam. After four years, he was reinstated again by the Tamil Nadu home department.
Sampathkumar had then reportedly unearthed an international money laundering operation in which mafia don Dawood Ibrahim was allegedly involved.
