Journalism of Courage
Reeling under the Mumbai High Court order that termed its two-member internal probe,formed to probe the spot-fixing scandal,illegal,the IPL governing council on Thursday decided to approach the Supreme Court.
This set the tone for the day when the BCCI,in the wake of the legal and public pressure,decided to tread cautiously. First president N Srinivasan recused himself from the Governing Council meeting as the discussion revolved around the panel that was probing his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan. Later,the working committee meeting was called off after a constitutional flaw,pertaining to the official procedure,was spotted.
North Zone vice-president and IPL governing council member Arun Jaitley,a practicing lawyer in the Supreme Court,was the man of the hour as the BCCI members rallied around him. Jaitley insisted on cancellation of the working committee meeting since it was convened without the mandatory seven-day notice. Since it was called at a short notice,in the communication to the members,it should have been called as an emergent working committee meeting.
After the conclusion of the governing council meeting,Srinivasan joined the discussion. On being told that he must continue to allow Jagmohan Dalmiya to remain as interim chief till the outcome BCCIs appeal at the Supreme Court,Srinivasan didnt show any reservation.
Incidentally,after the BCCIs two-member internal probe had last week cleared Chennai Super Kings official Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra of any wrongdoing in the betting and spot-fixing scandal,Srinivasan was keen to return to the helm of affairs after stepping side to make way for interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya.
The governing council meeting was chaired by IPL commissioner Rajeev Shukla but Jaitley emerged as the strongest voice as he insisted that the Mumbai High Court order must be respected and no ad hoc decisions that could expose the BCCI or the T20 league to further legal scrutiny must be taken.
It was Jaitley who brought to the notice of the members the fine print that resulted in the cancellation of the working committee meeting.
BCCI vice president Chitrak Mitra said,A seven-day notice has to be given for a working committee meeting to be called and on this occasion that wasnt the case. This should have been called an emergent working committee meeting as it was decided only on July 28. The word emergent was omitted because of an oversight on the part of our secretarys (Sanjay Patel) office, Mitra said.
It would be a violation of the BCCI constitution if a general working committee meeting was held without seven days notice, Mitra said highlighting the cautious approach adopted by the BCCI and IPL office bearers.
Reports that Srinivasan faced strong opposition were untrue because the BCCI president preferred to play it safe.
BCCI treasurer Ravi Savant said that there was no disagreement as Srinivasan was willing to abide by the governing council decision. Once the IPL governing council decided that the Mumbai High Court order that termed the two-member probe panel as illegal it was decided to approach the Supreme Court. The members,including Srinivasan,opted for a status quo where Jagmohan Dalmiya remains the interim chief who will run day-to-day affairs. We will call a working committee meeting after the Supreme Court verdict.
(Inputs from Shamik Chakrabarty)
