IPL spot-fixing case: SC names Srinivasan, Gurunath Meiyappan, Sundar Raman and Raj Kundra

New Delhi: Indian cricket control board president-in-exile Narayanaswami Srinivasan, his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, IPL chief executive Sundar Raman and Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra were among the seven persons named by the Supreme Court as being “under investigation” by the court-appointed Mukul Mudgal Commission at the resumed hearing of the IPL spot-fixing case here on Friday.

The SC directed that the findings of the Mudgal panel report on non-cricketers, including Mr Srinivasan, Mr Gurunath, Mr Raj Kundra and Mr Sundar Raman, be disclosed.

Read: SC names Srini, Meiyappan, Raj Kundra among those probed

“Certain findings recorded by the committee are understood to have indicted some individuals against whose conduct a probe was conducted. The report also deals with the conduct of players which are held back for now,” the SC special bench of Justices T.S. Thakur and F.M. Kalifullah, said.

The report was presented in two parts, one which featured players and the other made up of what Justice Thakur termed “non-playing actors in the drama”. The extent of their roles in the matter, however, was not discussed in court on the day.

During the course of a 20-minute hearing, the court said it would take up the matter next on November 24. All the four named on the day were asked to be physically present for the next hearing along with their lawyers. While counsel were present for the BCCI and Mr Srinivasan, notices have been sent to Mr Meiyappan, Mr Kundra and Mr Raman, to ensure that they respond by the due date.

Mr Srinivasan, currently chairman of the International Cricket Council, will also have to wait in his bid to be re-elected BCCI president with the apex court holding that the annual elections could not be held until the issues related to the case were addressed.

Asked by the BCCI lawyer about the court allowing Mr Srinivasan to contest the November 20 election, Justice Thakur said, “We cannot give clarity on whether you can contest or not until this matter is disposed of.” The board meeting now stands postponed to January.

Resuming the hearing, the bench initially also named three players , two reportedly from Rajasthan Royals and one from Chennai Super Kings, who were probed by the Justice Mudgal Committee. The players’ names were later struck off the record considering the sensitivity of the issue and the possible implications for their careers.

Of the four named, Mr Meiyappan already stands indicted after the forensic science laboratory in Mumbai confirmed that his voice was on a sample of a taped conversation with another accomplice, Bollywood actor Vindoo Dara Singh.

Read: Gurunath Meiyappan’s voice sample confirmed in tapped conversation, says report

The Supreme Court bench directed that a redacted copy of the report with the names of the cricketers blacked out be provided to the BCCI, Mr Srinivasan and other non-players who were the subjects of the investigation. They were also asked to file their objections within four days of the receipt.

On Monday, the court had asked for more time to read the report submitted by the Mudgal Committee and had asked the concerned parties whether the content of the report should be made public.

The secretary of the unrecognised Cricket Association of Bihar, Aditya Verma, who is the petitioner in the matter, had called for the report to be made public in the interest of the sport.

The final report submitted by the Mudgal Committee on November 3 reportedly contained the names of Mr Srinivasan and India captain M.S. Dhoni in a conflict of interest issue. It had also named a key member of India’s World Cup-winning team and his links with illegal bookmakers and match fixers.

Read: IPL scandal: Justice Mudgal committee submits final report to SC

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly also had a contribution in the Mudgal Commission report that had in February handed the Supreme Court a sealed envelope containing the names of 13 individuals it wanted probed further, which the apex court duly ordered. Six names are yet to be revealed and the CAB’s Verma has said that information about five big names has been held back as per the court’s direction.