Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were suspended from the Indian Premier League for two years for betting activities of their key officials, Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra, during the 2013 season of cash-rich Twenty20 cricket tournament.
The Supreme Court-appointed high-level Committee, headed by former Chief Justice of India Rajendra Mal Lodha, proposed two-year suspensions on IPL franchises Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Here's what the verdict means.
Following is the chronology of events relating to implementation of Justice R M Lodha panel recommendations on structural reforms in BCCI.
With the BCCI threatening to call off the ongoing series between India and New Zealand, the Justice R M Lodha led panel on Tuesday clarified that they didn't direct the banks to freeze the accounts of the Board and it should carry on with its routine expenses. Fuming at the defiance of its recommendations, the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha panel had "directed" banks, where BCCI holds accounts, not to disburse "large" funds to the state associations, a decision taken by the Board at its Special General Meeting on September 30.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Sunday accepted the recommendations made by the Lodha Committee and formed a working group to prepare the road map for the future editions of the Indian Premier League.
Suspended from all cricket-related activity for life by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice R S Lodha committee, former Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra said he is shocked and disappointed by the punishment handed out to him.
IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings moved the Madras High Court challenging the order of Justice Lodha Committee suspending it from Indian Premier League over the 2013 betting scam involving its top official Gurunath Meiyappan.
The Supreme Court on Friday left it to a panel headed by former Chief Justice of India R M Lodha to consider the feasibility of opening and looking into the sealed envelope, containing names of some players allegedly involved in the IPL spot-fixing case, submitted by Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly termed the suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals as bad news, but expressed hope that the Indian Premier League will be back on track soon.
In the wake of the Supreme Court-appointed Justice RM Lodha committee's landmark verdict on the Indian Premier League spot-fixing case announced on Tuesday, Sundar Raman, the Chief Operating Officer of the IPL, has said that he is awaiting the investigating officer's report on the same.
Justice Lodha's attribution of guilt to the owners of teams, rather than to individuals, has laid out the law of command and responsibility, responsibility by virtue of ownership of shareholding, team membership and holding out to be the face of the team, says Indira Jaising.
Subramanian Swamy, in his plea, has alleged that there are no allegations against either Narayanswami Srinivasan or against any members of CSK and hence the ban imposed by the Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha panel is "illegal, arbitrary and unreasonable".
Aditya Verma, the petitioner in the IPL spot-fixing scandal, hailed the verdict, stating that the ball is now in the BCCI's court and cleaning up the mess can start with BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur urging former BCCI president Srinivasan to withdraw his representation from the ICC.
The Attorney General of India Mukul Rohatgi, on Friday, asked the Supreme to recall its order on the BCCI in the case regarding the Lodha recommendations to be followed by the Indian cricket board.
Rajasthan Cricket Association official Jaideep Bihani has accused the Rajasthan Royals of match-fixing after they failed to chase down nine runs in the final over in their last two matches.
Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha, who headed the committee that proposed the two-year suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, says the Board of Control for Cricket in India is free to terminate the two Indian Premier IPL franchises.
The Justice Lodha Panel had recommended a slew of structural reforms in the BCCI, which were approved by the Supreme Court.
Following the Supreme Court on Friday, the Board of Control of Cricket in India secretary Ajay Shirke has written a letter to Justice Lodha Panel asking for clarification in the issues related to broadcast rights for the Indian Premier League. The invitation to tenders (ITTs) are slated to be opened on Tuesday (October 25).
The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Monday named former captain Sourav Ganguly in the four-member panel to study the Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha committee verdict on the Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal of 2013.
Stung by the suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from the Indian Premier League, the Board of Control for Cricket in India's top officials are working out a contingency plan to ensure that the high-profile league remains an eight-team affair.
In a complete defiance of the Supremer Court, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, on Saturday, rejected key recommendations of the Lodha Committee, like one-state one-vote, age limit of 70 years and cooling-off period of three years, setting the stage for another round of confrontation with the apex court.
Former cricketer Bishen Singh Bedi, on Monday, said that all things nasty in cricket administration over the last few decades were by "design" and the reforms suggested by the Lodha committee should have been brought in 50 years ago.
A chronology of events relating to implementation of the Justice R M Lodha panel recommendations on structural reforms in the BCCI.
The BCCI said that forming a working group is aimed at finding the procedures to implement the order and should not be seen as a delaying tactic.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea in the IPL spot-fixing case seeking handing over of Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee's report, containing names of some players, to the Justice R M Lodha panel which is considering administrative reforms for BCCI.
A senior Chennai Super Kings official, reacting to the franchise's suspension from the Indian Premier League, conceded that it never expected to go "scot-free" in the spot-fixing scandal that rocked cricket in 2013.
The Madras high court on Friday issued a notice to the Board of Control for Cricket in India on a petition by Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings challenging the order of Justice Lodha Committee suspending it from the IPL over the betting and match-fixing scandal in 2013 involving its top official Gurunath Meiyappan.
BCCI sources said that a similar decision in the case of another IPL team Kochi Tuskers Kerala a few years ago, at the insistence of former president Shashank Manohar, had backfired with an arbitration award favouring a payout of Rs 550 crore for the disbanded Kerala franchise on grounds of wrongful termination.
Shaken by Justice RM Lodha committee's recommended reforms of its governance structure, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has decided to call a Special General Meeting (SGM) within the next two weeks to discuss the implications of the report.
Sadly, the Lodha panel verdict on the IPL spot-fixing scandal of 2013 can't guarantee such incidents won't happen in the future, says Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com.
If the Supreme Court makes Justice RM Lodha committee's recommendations on BCCI reforms final and binding, the parent cricket body might have to alter the date of the ninth edition of Indian Premier League, scheduled to start on April 9, this year.
Former Essex player Ian Pont, who is now engaged in coaching Indian bowlers at the Ultimate Pace Foundation in Bengaluru, tells Manu Shankar/Rediff.com you can never ensure that the spot-fixing episode won't resurface. 'All you can do is deal with it correctly when it happens.'
Former BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale, current IPL Governing Council member Ajay Shirke and Prof R S Shetty, the Board's General Manager (Game Development), deposed before the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Lodha Committee.
Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Anurag Thakur and IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla deposed before the Supreme Court appointed Justice (Retd) RM Lodha Commission on the possible reforms that the board is expected to carry out once the second part of report is released.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's four-member working group, formed to study the Justice Lodha panel's verdict relating to the spot-fixing scandal in the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League in 2013, on Monday met for the first time to discuss the way forward for the cash-rich league's next edition and said the sponsors are fully behind the Board.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar dismissed talk of the cash-rich Indian Premier League being the reason behind Champions League T20 being scrapped, saying "there's no connection" between the two events.
The Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee on Monday recommended sweeping reforms for the controversy-ridden Board of Control for Cricket in India, suggesting a bar on ministers from occupying positions, putting a cap on the age and tenure of the office-bearers and legalising betting.
The Supreme Court-appointed Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha panel asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India to accept its reforms before proceeding ahead with the process of awarding the Indian Premier League media rights from 2018 onwards.
Former Board of Control for Cricket in India president Shashank Manohar on Saturday said that the Board did not take any timely steps to clean up the mess in the IPL.
Ajay Shirke raised termination issue, doesn't find support during the IPL Governing Council meeting in Mumbai.
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