Match-fixing probe report — What’s Advani got to do with it?

“There was no substance in the allegations made by Prabhakar about match-fixing, given the circumstances of the game played at that time. Prabhakar had no evidence to substantiate his claim that he was offered money by two teammates to throw a match,” says Justice Chandrachud. “Two, after talking to at least 20 top players, even from former Indian teams, I have found that there was no evidence that players indulged in match-fixing. Not a single witness made any new allegations nor gave me a single instance where they had heard or seen match-fixing which could have corroborated Prabhakar’s accusation. However, what has been seen is that some players may indulge in betting on a team’s fortune — a player may put Rs 10,000 on South Africa winning and earn Rs 50,000 on his bet. But there is no evidence to show that they have taken money to lose a match.”

Justice Chandrachud says he was impressed by the players’ knowledge about the game when they deposed before him. “I had seasoned and mature players like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Venkataraman, who are so well-versed in the game and who are men of the world, explain to me in detail all aspects of the game and how, therefore, it is difficult to fix a game. They were aware of match-fixing but they demonstrated to me how difficult it is to do it. They said players may take money but they cannot fix the match in the end. Even Cronje admitted, he took the money but he did not throw the match.”

Justice Chandrachud quotes a phrase to emphasise his point. “Secrecy is the badge of fraud,” he says. “What I found is that you need at least six top players in a team to fix a game which is very difficult to get and then pretend there is no secret pact. It can be easily found out.”

What about journalists who made stunning exposes on match-fixing? Did he ask them to present their evidence? The judge is dismissive about their contribution. “Journalists have simply gone by talk in the stands and stories floating about. I asked them to give me even one name but they said it could not be substantiated. They simply went by the rule that if there is smoke, then there must be fire. There was nothing concrete from them.”

The judge despairs that the BCCI is planning to bring the CBI and police to look into match-fixing. “There is so much money in betting. The biggest menace are the bookies and betting but it is ill-advised to bring the police in. While they may know the ins and outs of the betting syndicate, their interests and procedures are different…they have several constraints.”

While Justice Chandrachud believes his report was conclusive given the circumstances three years ago, he feels a fresh probe could look into the fresh allegations that have come up after the Cronje scandal and put to rest all speculation of misdemeanours by the Indian side. “Perhaps, there should be a good probe in the light of the present circumstances. But it should spell out on what basis it is being formed…after all Cronje has not named any Indian player. But if in the background of the events of today a probe is undertaken, it will act as a deterrent.” Would he accept an offer to head another investigation? “It would depend on the terms of reference, whether there is a valid basis for allegations..,” he says.