SC allows BCCI to put off AGM and polls till Jan 31

New Delhi, Dec 10 (IANS) The Supreme Court Wednesday allowed the Indian cricket board to postpone its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and elections of the office-bearers till Jan 31, 2015, as the hearing into the allegations of betting and conflict of interest is continuing.

The apex court bench headed by Justice T.S Thakur allowed the postponement of the AGM and the election of the office-bearers as it appeared that the hearing into the matter may not conclude before Dec 17 when the meeting is scheduled to be held.

Earlier, N. Srinivasan, the board's sidelined chief, told the court that if he is re-elected, he would stay away from the Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council till a proposed committee decides on the larger question of conflict of interest between his BCCI role and his IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings.

Responding to a poser from the court Tuesday, senior counsel Kapil Sibal told a bench of Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice F.M.I. Kalifulla that Srinivasan would stay away from the governing council and its activities and also from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) meetings related to the IPL.

Sibal said: "Mr N. Srinivasan further undertakes that if he is elected as president of BCCI, till the (proposed) committee suggests the procedure to deal with the issue of conflict of interest, he will not attend any IPL governing council meeting or any other IPL related discussion in any meeting of working committee or general body meeting of the BCCI."

This the court was told in a note on the scope of reference of the committee to be appointed by the apex court or the BCCI into the question of conflict of interest. The note said the committee could suggest "the sanctions to be imposed, in accordance with the applicable IPL rules on person prima facie found to be involved in the act of backing by the Mudgal Committee."

The committee may also determine the liability of the franchisees for the act of backing by their "team officials and to suggest the consequential sanctions that can be imposed on them in accordance with the IPL rules".

The note said that another term of reference for the proposed committee would be to "consider and suggest a mechanism to identify the potential conflict of interest in the BCCI and to suggest the procedure to be adopted for dealing with situations of potential conflict of interest".

Sibal said this during the hearing on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by Cricket Association of Bihar which has sought to oust Srinivasan as BCCI president on the ground of his being in the conflict of interest situation being the president of the cricketing body and also the owner of CSK.

The PIL is also seeking the cancellation of IPL franchisee CSK on the ground of Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan's alleged involvement in betting.